Pollster Sarah Longwell, a one-time Republican who has shunned the party ever since its embrace of former President Donald Trump, has written a piece for The Bulwark urging former Trump officials to come out against him in force.
At the start of her piece, Longwell documents a lengthy list of one-time Trump appointees who have since soured on their former boss, including Attorney General Bill Barr, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and chief of staff John Kelly.
"What we have here is a parade of high-level, serious people (whatever you think about their politics) who served the guy and all came to the same conclusion, independently: He’s nuts," writes Longwell.
However, Longwell thinks that their statements about Trump haven't had much of an impact politically because they haven't been made in unison.
She then pushes for this to change and says that a more concerted effort by former Trump officials must be made to protect the American republic.
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"It’s time to step up," argues Longwell. "The people who served Trump directly need to go on the record, as loudly and frequently as possible, about exactly why he should never get near the White House again. We need John Kelly on primetime TV making the case. We need Bill Barr speaking plainly in swing state ads, with millions of dollars behind them. We need Jim Mattis talking straight to camera about what it means to serve the Constitution—and what it means to subvert it."
Most crucially, Longwell wants to have former Vice President Mike Pence loudly recounting how Trump demanded that he violate his oath of office when he pressured him to throw out certified election results on January 6th, 2021.
"Generals Kelly and Mattis, Vice President Pence, Attorney General Barr, Ambassador Bolton: The primary season has ended before it even began," she concludes. "Donald Trump will be the Republican party’s nominee. It’s time to go to work. Your country needs you."