Ex-Bush AG slams Trump’s 'serious threat to the rule of law' in bombshell Harris endorsement

12 September 2024

Less than a week after ex-Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) announced that her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, is planning to vote for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, the vice president has picked up yet another endorsement from a former George W. Bush Administration official: Alberto R. Gonzales.

After serving on the Texas Supreme Court for two years, the conservative Gonzales became White House counsel for the Bush Administration in 2001. Then, in 2005, Gonzales was appointed U.S. attorney general after John Ashcroft left that position.

In an op-ed published by Politico on September 12, Gonzales, now 69, lays out his reasons for supporting Harris and opposing GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

"As the United States approaches a critical election," the former Bush Administration official explains, "I can't sit quietly as Donald Trump — perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation — eyes a return to the White House. For that reason, though I'm a Republican, I've decided to support Kamala Harris for president."

Gonzales adds, "The character of the person we elect in November is particularly important today because the current members of the House of Representatives and the Senate have proven spectacularly incapable or unwilling to check abuses of executive power."

The former U.S. attorney general goes on to argue that Trump is unfit to be president again.

"Power is intoxicating, and based on Trump's rhetoric and conduct, it appears unlikely that he would respect the power of the presidency in all instances," Gonzales warns. "Rather, he would abuse it for personal and political gain, and not on behalf of the American people. Perhaps the most revealing example relates to Trump's conduct on January 6, 2021, when he encouraged his followers to march to our nation's capital in order to challenge the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory. Trump failed to do his duty and exercise his presidential power to protect members of Congress, law enforcement and the Capitol from the attacks that day."

Gonzales adds, "He failed to deploy executive branch personnel to save lives and property and preserve democracy. He just watched on television and chose not to do anything because that would have been contrary to his interests. Trump still describes that day as beautiful. And as for those subsequently convicted of committing crimes, he describes them as hostages. He also has promised to pardon the convicted rioters if elected. Why? Because they were acting in his interests."

Gonzales' bombshell Harris endorsement has inspired a lot of reactions on X, formerly Twitter.

Elections analyst Larry Sabato, tweeting Gonzales' op-ed, commented, in all caps, "IT'S BECOMING A THING" — an obvious reference to other well-known conservatives who have endorsed Harris.

The Fayetteville Observer's Myron R. Pitts tweeted, "I mean with Dick Cheney on the train I guess all tickets are being accepted, but it's worth pointing out this is the guy who wrote legal opinions justifying torture."

The Louisville Courier-Journal's Joe Gerth posted, "Wow. Alberto Gonzales has now come out in support of Kamala Harris."

"SmartStart" host Richard Dodge commented, "He passes the most basic sanity/morality test and it’s welcomed."

Alberto R. Gonzales' full Politico op-ed is available at this link.

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