President Bush’s Secretary of Homeland Security Denounces Trump
Last week, joining the growing chorus of mainstream Republicans denouncing Trump for his dangerous foreign policy and his reckless, hateful comments, former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge told Chuck Todd on MSNBC that there was “not a chance” he’d vote for Donald Trump, should Trump become the Republican nominee.
“I think he’s an embarrassment to the party, I think he’s an embarrassment to the country,” Ridge told Todd. Ridge, who President George W. Bush appointed as the first Secretary of Homeland Security shortly after the attacks of 9/11, said Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims “plays into the narrative of ISIS.”
Yet despite Trump’s dangerous comments and the drumbeat of Republicans denouncing Trump’s reckless campaign, Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson continues to insist he will support the billionaire mogul should he become the Republican Party’s nominee. Johnson told a reporter last week that besides pledging his support, he would offer nothing more on the issue “other than a wry smile.”
“Leaders in Donald Trump’s own party know how disastrous his policies would be for the national security of the United States, yet Ron Johnson continues to stand by these dangerous ideas,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Executive Director Kory Kozloski. “It’s time for Ron Johnson to join his Republican colleagues and immediately denounce Donald Trump.”
