US1 min(s) read
Published 15:14 21 Aug 2020 GMT
Over 70 top republican officials have endorsed Joe Biden for the role of US President in the leadup to the 2020 election.
A statement favoring Biden was signed by 73 officials who have previously served under a number of presidents including Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump, Forbes reports.
The statement details how Trump has "failed" the US in ten points.
Check out Joe Biden's full DCN speech below:
[[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA_pWm6U6y0]]
The statement's opening part reads: "We are former national security officials who served during the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and/or Donald Trump, or as Republican Members of Congress.
"We are profoundly concerned about the course of our nation under the leadership of Donald Trump. Through his actions and his rhetoric, Trump has demonstrated that he lacks the character and competence to lead this nation and has engaged in corrupt behavior that renders him unfit to serve as President.
"For the following reasons, we have concluded that Donald Trump has failed our country and that Vice President Joe Biden should be elected the next President of the United States."
According to the statement, Trump has failed in his role as president for a number of reasons by "gravely damaging" the US's role as a world leader, being "unfit to lead" during a crisis, aligning himself with dictators like Kim Jong Un, and for having "attacked and vilified immigrants".
The statement continued: "While we - like all Americans - had hoped that Donald Trump would govern wisely, he has disappointed millions of voters who put their faith in him and has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term.
"In contrast, we believe Joe Biden has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation. We believe he will restore the dignity of the presidency, bring Americans together, reassert America's role as a global leader, and inspire our nation to live up to its ideals.
"While some of us hold policy positions that differ from those of Joe Biden and his party, the time to debate those policy differences will come later. For now, it is imperative that we stop Trump’s assault on our nation's values and institutions and reinstate the moral foundations of our democracy."
Elizabeth Neumann, Sen. Chuck Hagel, Janice Gardner, and Matthew Waxman were some of the Republican officials to have signed the statement.
The statement concluded by saying that the signees "are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."
