Another Republican has come out in support of Democratic nominee Joe Biden, and this time it's someone who served in the Trump administration.
Miles Taylor served as the Chief of Staff of Trump's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until 2019.
In a recent video for Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT), Taylor offered his full support for Biden and gave a disturbing inside look into Trump's attitude towards national security. Taylor accompanied the video with an op-ed in the Washington Post.
Watch below.
Terrified of a second Trump term. But not enough to hide in a bunker. https://t.co/Q6ojOAWbzb
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) August 17, 2020
Some of the Trump administration's most controversial actions have been spearheaded by the DHS, including the separation of immigrant families and the deployment of anonymous militarized officers to arrest protesters.
Taylor says in the video:
"We would go in to try to talk to [Trump] about a pressing national security issue, cyber attack, terrorism threat. He wasn't interested in those things. To him, they weren't priorities. The President wanted to exploit the Department of Homeland Security for his own political purposes."
Taylor goes on to detail a particularly harrowing account during the California wildfires last year, in which Trump told the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cut off assistance to California.
Taylor said:
"He told us to stop giving money to people whose houses had burned down from a wildfire because he was so rageful that people in the state of California didn't support him and that politically, it wasn't a base for them."
Taylor's account runs parallel to much of what Donald Trump has already stated publicly, including that he has "magical authorities" as President.
People were disturbed to hear the new details from the Trump administration.
Holy cow. https://t.co/17JcJBkagY
— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) August 17, 2020
If this isn't a wake up to America I'm not sure the remaining 40% will ever wake up...He's not in it for America and he never has been...This has all been a show for him and it's time for America to stand up and say they've had enough...The ONLY way to do that is to VOTE NOV 3rd
— Dale Martin (@_DaleMartin_) August 17, 2020
Thank you even though this terrifies me, thank you for speaking out. I hope you stay safe.
— peacebee Ⓥ 🌱🌊🐝✍🏼 (@kindlee55) August 17, 2020
Good Lord, what have we done by electing this President into office. We cannot let this go further... and yes, I'm a republican, but he's killing us.
— Richard Butler (@Rixster01) August 17, 2020
The scariest thing about this video is the people around Trump saying just wait until the next 4 years--we can do what we want. They are PLANNING on doing illegal corrupt things.
— Groots (@GretaGroots) August 17, 2020
Four more years is terrifying. He just confirmed my fears.
— JMPanz (@JeannePancurak) August 17, 2020
Others urged their followers to watch the ad.
Don't say this often. But stop what you're doing - seriously - and watch this ad. https://t.co/dqmVEHUpqa
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 17, 2020
Watch every second of this. This is Trump's OWN former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff. https://t.co/jHrkayTyNR
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) August 17, 2020
I don't recall seeing something quite like this with past presidents. https://t.co/bMVM96BEGn
— Joshua Holland 🔥 (@JoshuaHol) August 17, 2020
Taylor warned that the Trump administration would be eager to double down on its actions if given a second term.