In a recent interview on CNN, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who’s already spoken out against his former boss, ex-President Donald Trump, emphatically deemed the former commander-in-chief to be “unfit” for serving in the White House.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour was asking Esper about what he’ll be doing in the lead-up to this year’s elections in light of his avowed opposition to Trump’s candidacy.
“I think he’s unfit for the presidency,” Esper told Amanpour. “What I look for in a candidate is somebody who puts country first. Somebody who has character and integrity, somebody that can unify the country and somebody that can lead. And in my estimation Donald Trump doesn’t check any of those boxes. So, I’m going to continue to say that when asked and I’m going to continue to let people know that as somebody that worked directly for him, not just as Secretary of Defense, but keep in mind, I was Secretary of the Army for nearly two years, that he’s just — I don’t think he’s the right person for our country. And so, I will not be supporting him.”
Others from Trump’s orbit resisting the prospect of supporting the ex-president as he nears an expected presidential nomination this year from the Republican Party include former Vice President Mike Pence, former White House chief of staff John Kelly, and Nikki Haley, former ambassador from Trump’s administration to the United Nations. Republican voices like former Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming also remain out there, warning Americans of Trump’s evident dangers as he and his allies plot an authoritarian vision for presidential power in the event of another presidential term for Trump.
Pence and Haley both waged unsuccessful campaigns against Trump in this year’s Republican presidential primary, with neither getting particularly close to actually undoing the ex-president’s hold on Republicans. Large shares of Republicans among both everyday voters and elected officials remain evidently behind his attempted return to power, even as he proposes help for Capitol riot defendants accused, in reality, of assault and other serious crimes.
