GOP Strategist Admits ‘You Put Me in a Tough Spot’ Amid Wave of Anti-Trump Republican Endorsements for Kamala Harris

A Republican strategist, facing a surge of GOP lawmakers and national security experts warning voters against former President Donald Trump, conceded on Tuesday that he was in a difficult position. Brad Todd, a strategist managing down-ticket campaigns across the nation, found himself on the defensive during an appearance on CNN. Host Kasie Hunt presented Todd with multiple video montages of prominent Republicans who have turned away from Trump and are now endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

“You put me in a tough spot,” Todd admitted to Hunt.

Todd’s concession came as he tried to downplay the significance of the growing list of former Trump appointees and high-ranking Republicans who have publicly turned against the former president. He argued that the involvement of over 200 former staffers, including those who served under conservative figures like President George W. Bush and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), was merely “politics as usual.”

“The first name on that letter today was a finance intern,” Todd said, attempting to minimize the impact. “So let’s not get carried away with exactly how broad this is,” Hunt responded by playing a video montage that included stark comments from former top security officials who once served under Trump but now openly criticize him. The montage featured:

• Gen. Mark Milley, Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared, “We don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.”
• Trump’s former Defense Secretary Mark Esper stated, “I think he’s unfit for office.”
• Former National Security Advisor John Bolton warned, “I think he’s dangerous.”

Before continuing his defense of Trump, Todd was forced to acknowledge, “I agree with John Bolton on virtually every policy issue.” Todd then attempted to pivot by arguing that these criticisms were indicative of disloyalty rather than legitimate concerns. He asserted that voters appreciate Trump’s combative nature, particularly his willingness to stand up against what they perceive as the far-left, told AP News.

“Trump is very well-defined,” Todd said. “The main thing they like about him is that he fights and that he fights against the far-left and they see the left and the Democratic Party as way too far left. They know his downsides.” However, the hundreds of Republicans who endorsed Harris on Monday cited those very “downsides” as significant threats to democracy.

Their endorsement warned, “At home, another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership, this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions.” “Abroad,” the endorsement continued, “democratic movements will be irreparably jeopardized as Trump and his acolyte JD Vance kowtow to dictators like Vladimir Putin while turning their backs on our allies. We can’t let that happen.”