Olivia Troye, the former top homeland security aide to Vice President Mike Pence, endorsed former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Thursday and accused President Trump of weak leadership and of dramatically mismanaging the response to the coronavirus crisis.
In an ad released online, Ms. Troye recounts hearing the president — who has spoken about his phobia of germs — say in a meeting that he was glad that the virus had arrived in the United States, because it meant he would no longer have to shake hands with people he said he considered “disgusting.” She said she is voting for Mr. Biden because she believes the nation is in a “constitutional crisis” and that “at this point it’s country over party.”
In a statement, Judd Deere, a White House spokesman, responded by saying, “Outside of generally watching the White House coronavirus task force from the overflow staff room, this disgruntled former detailee was never in private meetings with the president and her assertions have no basis in reality and are flat out inaccurate.”
Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the national security adviser to Vice President Pence, said Ms. Troye never once expressed “any concern regarding the administration’s response to the coronavirus to anyone in her chain of command.”
Ms. Troye, who played a central role in running the White House’s coronavirus task force until leaving the government last month, is one of two top Trump administration officials who announced their opposition to Mr. Trump on Thursday and joined more than two dozen other Republican officials as part of a new group calling for “leadership change in the White House.”
Josh Venable, who served as chief of staff for Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education, will also join the group, known as REPAIR (Republican Political Alliance for Integrity and Reform), according to a statement. John Mitnick, the former top lawyer at Mr. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, is an adviser to the group.
Ms. Troye, a lifelong Republican who also worked in the George W. Bush administration, said in the statement that she will serve as a co-founder of the group, with the goal of restoring integrity to the Republican Party.
“We will listen to Americans, including those who’ve been harmed by the policies and rhetoric of the current administration, with the goal of restoring civil discourse and advocating for policies which recognize the dignity and worth of all people,” she said.
The effort is being spearheaded by Miles Taylor, who served as the chief of staff to Kirstjen Nielsen, the former secretary of homeland security. Last month, Mr. Taylor endorsed Mr. Biden and wrote in The Washington Post that Mr. Trump was “dangerous” and had governed the country “by whim, political calculation and self-interest.”
REPAIR joins other groups of Republicans who oppose Mr. Trump’s bid for a second term, including Republican Voters Against Trump and The Lincoln Project, a political action committee formed by current and former Republicans.
In its statement on Thursday, REPAIR said the members of the group will work to return the Republican Party to what it called “principled leadership.”
“Weak leaders, nationwide discord and a confluence of crises are threatening our country’s greatness,” said Sarah Longwell, executive director of Defending Democracy Together, a separate group that is backing the efforts by REPAIR. “Now is the time to speak up. REPAIR will promote authoritative voices and shape the debate about America’s direction.”
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Former Trump officials back Biden, saying it is time to put ‘country over party.’ - The New York Times
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