On July 17, 2024, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris moderated a conversation with former Trump administration national security official Olivia Troye and former Republican voter Amanda Stratton in Kalamazoo, Michigan .
Chris Dumond | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign on Sunday received presidential endorsements from more than two dozen members of the Republican Party, including some who served in former President Donald Trump’s administration.
Nearly 30 Republican members are included as part of a new “Republicans for Harris” initiative launched on Sunday. They include Stephanie Grisham, the former White House press secretary under Trump, and Olivia Troye, a national security official who served as Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser. ). Chuck Hagel and Ray LaHood, Republican cabinet members under President Barack Obama, also made the list.
By openly betraying the Republican presidential candidate, these officials created a target for Trump’s attacks.
“We must purge the party of those who oppose our candidate and make it harder for a popular Republican president to defeat radical left-wing lunatics. Jeff Duncan is a loser who is unraveling on his own.” Trump on Truth Social on Saturday post, mentioning the former lieutenant governor of Georgia who supports Harris.
The new effort by the Harris campaign to target Republican voters comes two weeks after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris. Since then, the vice president has enjoyed an early surge in support in the form of record donations, volunteer registrations and a surge in polls, closing the gap with Trump among voters.
Despite Harris’ initial momentum, the race between her and Trump remains tight and the November vote may be decided by only a razor-thin margin. That statistical closeness is part of the Harris campaign’s targeting of undecided Republicans who might be persuaded to oppose their party’s nominee.
Austin Weatherford, national director of Republican outreach for the Harris campaign, said in a memo that “Donald Trump’s ‘MAGA’ extremism is toxic to millions of Republicans who no longer believe in Donald Trump Trump’s party represents their values and will vote against him again in November.
“Vice President Harris and our campaign are working overtime to win over fellow Republicans who care about defending democracy and restoring decency,” he added.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
