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I didnt grow up in that political pipeline, he said. I think I scare the hell out of people because I just say, 'Hey, thats corrupt. Dont do that.'"

The convention, initially set for April 25, was moved due to the coronavirus pandemic. Melvin Adams, the chairman of the 5th Districts committee, pushed back against claims the process was engineered to disadvantage any candidate.

"My responsibility is not to any campaign," he said, stressing that there is no rule against committee members working for campaigns. "It is to the party, our party plan, which is essentially a bible for our party that guides us. It's the rulebook. I can't make things up as I go. I don't care how bad campaigns want me to.

Good is projecting confidence in his prospects, declaring last month that he has support from 62 percent of the delegates to the convention, a claim that Riggleman refutes.

The road to Saturdays convention began in July 2019, when Riggleman officiated the wedding of two men who had volunteered for his campaign. His wife posted a picture of the wedding on her Facebook page.

Several GOP county committees in the district later voted to censure the congressman. The 5th District committee also debated a censure motion, but it did not pass. Good entered the race last September and has said he was recruited by Republicans in the district.

The vote will be a signal about whether socially conservative positions out of step with the majority of Americans are still considered wedge issues for GOP voters. But Good, who stepped down from the Liberty University athletic department to run, has said his opposition to Riggleman extends beyond his willingness to officiate a gay marriage.

What does Denver stand for? Good said in a radio debate between the two candidates last month. What conservative Republican issue is he strong on? What can you point to? Hes out of step with the base of the party on life. Hes out of step on marriage. Hes out of step on immigration. Hes out of step on health care, on climate, on drug legalization.

Good and his campaign did not respond to multiple requests for an interview for this story. His campaign told a Lynchburg TV station that the candidate "will not be taking interviews this week as we prepare for Saturday's convention."

Rigglemans quick rise to Congress gave him little opportunity to cultivate relationships with power players in his district. Former Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Va.) decided to retire in 2018 after securing renomination amid claims that he treated members of his congressional staff like servants. Garrett, who only served one term, cited an ongoing problem with alcoholism.

The 5th District committee chose Riggleman to replace Garrett on the ballot, and he won election in November by 7 points, beating Leslie Cockburn, an author and the mother of actress Olivia Wilde. Garrett has endorsed Good as has former Rep. Virgil Goode, who held the district until he was ousted by Democrat Tom Perriello in 2008.

Despite his prominent opponents, Riggleman has a powerful ally in Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University and Goods former employer.

Your guide to the permanent campaign weekday mornings, in your inbox.

I really think the people who are opposing him over social issues are misguided, Falwell said in a brief interview with POLITICO. The Supreme Court, not Congress, he said, makes decisions pertaining to the legality of marriage.

Hes a congressman whos proven he can win, he said. Hes already done it once, and hes a successful businessman and I cant say that about his opponent in any way, shape or form.

President Donald Trump, who also backed Riggleman in December and has touted the undefeated record of his endorsed candidates in GOP primaries this year, won the district by 11 points in 2016. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee placed the district on its target list.

Cockburn is not running again, but there is a contested Democratic primary, which will be held on June 23. Top contenders include physician Cameron Webb, Marine veteran RD Huffstetler, who ran for the seat in 2018, and Claire Russo, another Marine veteran backed by EMILYs List.

Part of Rigglemans pitch is that he will be a stronger contender to hold the seat in November. Good has not proven to be a prolific fundraiser. He had raised less than $200,000 as of late May.

But privately some Republicans fear whoever secures the nomination will need outside help to hold the seat. Good is relatively unknown and will need to introduce himself to the district beyond the several thousand delegates. If Riggleman wins, he will have to quickly refill his coffers and try to unite a divided party.

Whether Denver wins or loses, national Republicans are going to have to spend money to retain the seat," said one longtime GOP operative in the state. "And they shouldn't have to."

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The Republican congressman who could get booted for officiating a gay wedding - POLITICO

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the state's primary election on Tuesday in Atlanta. Ron Harris/AP hide caption

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots in the state's primary election on Tuesday in Atlanta.

Republicans and Democrats seldom agree on much in 21st century politics but one issue that divides them more than ever may be voting and elections.

The parties didn't only battle about whether or how to enact new legislation following the Russian interference in the 2016 election. They also differ in the basic ways they perceive and frame myriad aspects of practicing democracy.

Republicans' and Democrats' vastly different starting points help explain why the politics over voting and elections have been and likely will remain so fraught, through and beyond Election Day this year.

Sometimes it seems as if the politicians involved barely live in the same country. It has become common for one side to discount the legitimacy of a victory by the other.

And the coronavirus pandemic, which has scrambled nearly everything about life in the United States, makes understanding it all even more complicated. Here's what you need to know to decode this year's voting controversies.

The Rosetta stone

The key that unlocks so much of the partisan debate about voting is one word: turnout.

An old truism holds that, all other things held equal, a smaller pool of voters tends to be better for Republicans and the larger the pool gets, the better for Democrats.

This isn't mathematically ironclad, as politicians learn and relearn regularly. But this assumption is the foundation upon which much else is built.

Traditionally, Republicans have tended to support higher barriers to voting and often focus on voter identification and security to protect against fraud. All the same, about half of GOP voters back expanding vote by mail in light of the pandemic.

Democrats tend to support lowering barriers and focus on making access for voters easier, with a view to encouraging engagement. They support expanding votes via mail too.

The next fight, in many cases, is about who and how many get what access via mail.

All this also creates a dynamic in which many political practitioners can't envision a neutral compromise, because no matter what philosophy a state adopts, it's perceived as zero-sum.

Or as former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, told NPR, there are no "fair" maps in the discussion about how to draw voting districts because what Democrats call "fair" maps are those, he believes, that favor them.

No, say voting rights groups and many Democrats the only "fair" way to conduct an election is to admit as many voters as possible. Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, who has charged authorities in her home state with suppressing turnout, named her public interest group Fair Fight Action.

Access vs. security

The pandemic has added another layer of complexity with the new emphasis it has put on voting by mail. President Trump says he opposes expanding voting by mail, and his allies, including White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, call the process rife with opportunities for fraud.

Even so, Trump and McEnany both voted by mail this year in Florida, and Republican officials across the country have encouraged voting by mail.

Democrats, who have made election security and voting access a big part of their political brand for several years, argue that the pandemic might discourage people from going to old-fashioned polling sites.

If there's rough agreement about that away from the White House, there are many disputes about the specifics what practices will be permitted based on what the parties perceive as beneficial for them.

A study by Stanford University found that voting by mail yielded a small but roughly equal increase in turnout between the parties.

It isn't clear yet how much voting by mail might expand by Election Day, but it's the subject of lawsuits across the country; apart from the politics, absentee ballot-printing is a boutique business and its capacity will be tested as may that of the Postal Service.

How common is voter fraud?

It exists, but it's very rare.

Despite anecdotal cases of people voting fraudulently in person or suspicious ballots appearing in the mail, most of the time, in most places, the way elections in the U.S. are processed is legitimate.

Since the pandemic, some Republican officials at the state level have acknowledged that the party's language around fraud may now be putting voting at risk by amplifying fraud concerns out of proportion.

Read more from NPR's Miles Parks about the integrity of voting by mail.

Trump sometimes says that large numbers of people vote illegally in the United States, but a panel he appointed to investigate that ostensible problem could not substantiate it. Listen to an interview with a member of that commission.

Still, anecdotal cases of fraud crop up across the country.

Voter suppression

Activists frequently call out what they term suppression.

In a dispute this spring in Nevada, for example, Democrats sued to stop the state from sending mail-in ballots only to people who had voted in recent elections rather than to all registered voters.

Democrats said the state's plan would disenfranchise some citizens by leaving them out of the primary; Republicans argued that states' voter rolls are often inaccurate and that sending out ballots to everyone could lead to the ballots getting lost or winding up in the wrong hands opening up the prospect for fraud.

Voter rolls are often the focus of disputes for these reasons.

People die, move and move out of state and so authorities periodically need to delete names. How frequently that happens, and for what reasons, can become controversial and the kernel of legal and political warfare between the parties.

Likewise with voter identification documents.

In Texas, for example, the Republican-dominated state legislature deemed that handgun licenses were acceptable identification at the polls but student IDs, even those issued by the state's own universities, were not.

For all the discussion about the effect of voter ID laws, however, a study last year found that whatever impact those laws might have is offset by increased organization and activism by nonwhite voters leading to no change in registration or turnout.

Another battleground is early and absentee voting. Rules vary by state, with some requiring more explanation than others as to what's permissible.

Bitter lessons

The parties today have arrived at this moment after years of what they would argue were bad experiences with elections at the hands of their opponents.

Republicans, among other things, sometimes point to what they believe was cheating in the 1960 presidential race. Alleged Democratic chicanery, in this telling, threw the results to John F. Kennedy and cost the race for Richard Nixon.

Fraudulent IDs, undocumented immigrants voting, people being "bused in" on Election Day remain consistent themes when Republicans talk about elections.

Democrats look to the decades of Jim Crow discrimination that kept many black voters out of elections.

More recently, they look at the Supreme Court's 2000 decision that handed the outcome of that election to George W. Bush over Al Gore. The court halted the counting of ballots that Democrats argued could have changed Florida's results, swinging the state to Gore.

Abrams' group perceives what it calls a deliberate campaign by the establishment to purge Georgia voter rolls of mainly black or Democratic voters.

Problems with voting in Georgia's primary in June underscored those problems and that history, Abrams and other critics said.

Matters of principle

Many party leaders describe at having arrived at their positions based upon principle. Republicans are more likely to argue that casting a vote is a privilege of citizenship to be earned and safeguarded with restrictions and security.

They also point to what they call the principles of federalism and the need for people to be engaged at the state and local level with the conduct of elections not for broad mandates from Washington.

Democrats are more likely to argue that voting is a right and that the barriers to casting a ballot should be as low as practical. President Lyndon Johnson and Democrats in the 1960s used the Voting Rights Act and federal power to dismantle racist state laws designed to prevent African Americans from voting, but those actions were later weakened by the Supreme Court.

Some current Democrats, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have called for new action by Congress and the federal government that could involve new funding, legislation and administration from Washington.

Whatever the outcome of this year's election, these disputes over elections themselves likely will continue well into the future.

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Why Democrats And Republicans Disagree About Voting Rights - NPR

Senate Republicans are growing concerned that rising tensions between President TrumpDonald John TrumpMelania Trump is 'behind-the-scenes' but 'unbelievably influential': book Police unions face lobbying fights at all levels of government Ernst challenger leads by three points in tight Iowa Senate race MORE and Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNavarro floats T price tag for next coronavirus relief bill Democrats see path to ridding Capitol of Confederate statues New York Times endorses Engel primary challenger MORE (D-Calif.) could lead to a shutdown fight just weeks before the election and threaten their slim majority in the chamber.

There is widespread anxiety among GOP senators that Trumps penchant for picking fights is a political liability as his response to nationwide protests against police brutality appears to be the cause of his declining approval ratings.

Republicans are now worried that hes likely to pick a fight with Pelosi in September over government funding for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

Trump and Pelosis relationship has only gotten worse since the 35-day government shutdown at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019. The president regularly refers to her as "Crazy Nancy," and last month Pelosi called him "morbidly obese."

GOP lawmakers say the last thing they need a few weeks before the Nov. 3 election is a spending standoff and possible government shutdown, especially with 23 Republican Senate seats up for reelection and only 12 Democratic seats at stake.

The Senate has yet to pass any of the 12 appropriations bills. In the House, Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita LoweyNita Sue LoweyWins by young progressives start reshaping establishment On The Money: Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election | Mnuchin: White House seriously considering second round of stimulus checks | Labor leaders under pressure on police unions Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election MORE (D-N.Y.) announced that she intends to hold all subcommittee and full committee markups the weeks of July 6 and July 13.

Some Senate Republicans are discussing moving legislation that would prevent a government shutdown even if the annual appropriations bills havent been passed. The GOP senators say theyve gotten a commitment from GOP leaders for a vote in the coming weeks.

Theres some of us that would like to get back on that, Sen. Mike BraunMichael BraunOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senior Interior official contacted former employer, violating ethics pledge: watchdog | Ag secretary orders environmental rollbacks for Forest Service | Senate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election Senate advances public lands bill in late-night vote MORE (R-Ind.) said after Republicans discussed it at a recent lunch meeting. It has to do with the general dysfunction that we have here.

He said Thursday the goal is to get something in place before a shutdown scenario arises and to have it there where you get rid of shutting down the government as a lever that can be used by whoever chooses to do it.

Braun added that theres strong Republican support for the legislation, but it faces an uphill path to securing support from Pelosi, Senate MinorityLeader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerJones, Sessions spar over renaming of military bases Democrats rip Trump rollback of LGBTQ protections amid Pride Month Sessions-Tuberville Senate runoff heats up in Alabama MORE (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats who worry that automatically defaulting to long-term stopgap spending measures could take pressure off Congress to pass new spending bills every year.

Sen. Patrick LeahyPatrick Joseph LeahyPolice unions face lobbying fights at all levels of government Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election Can he really do that? Yes, he probably can because Congress let him MORE (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, has previously opposed legislation that would permanently enact appropriations if Congress failed to act or the president vetoed spending legislation.

Some moderate Democrats, however, have expressed support in the past for legislation to prevent future shutdowns.

Sen. Mark WarnerMark Robert WarnerRepublicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election Virginia senator calls for Barr to resign over order to clear protests Trump asserts his power over Republicans MORE (D-Va.) last year introduced the Stop Stupidity Act, which would renew government funding at the same levels as the previous fiscal year, except for the legislative branch and the executive office of the president.

Braun said even if the legislation doesnt become law, it would at least put Senate Republicans on record opposing a shutdown ahead of an anticipated fight over a stopgap spending measure to keep government agencies operating beyond Sept. 30.

If Schumer and/or Pelosi wants to keep that open as an option, I think it will be pretty easy to connect the dots on whose fault it would be if we ever have a government shutdown, he said.

To me it would be the biggest thing we could do to at least be able to hold a stronger bargaining position that the government cant shut down, he said.

Theres concern among Republicans over which party would get the blame for a shutdown only a few weeks before an election in which Democrats are seen as having a growing chance of capturing the Senate GOP majority.

GOP lawmakers felt burned after the 2018-2019 shutdown, which was provoked by a fight primarily between Trump and Democratic leaders over the presidents demand for $5.7 billion in funding for a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

Sen. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanCongress must protect federal watchdogs Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election Senate subcommittee: IRS should increase oversight of tax-prep companies in Free File program MORE (R-Ohio) and a group of Senate Republicans have proposed the End Government Shutdowns Act, which would set up an automatic continuing resolution for any regular appropriations bill or existing stopgap spending measure to keep the federal government open when negotiations falter before key spending deadlines, according to an official summary of the proposal.

Braun said Republican senators hope to merge that with a measure he and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) sponsored the No Budget, No Pay Act that would require Congress to pass an annual budget and meet appropriations bill deadlines or forgo their own salaries until those goals are met. It passed out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental AffairsCommittee last year.

At this point I think theres going to be unanimity on just jumping on one, he said, adding it was discussed by members of the Senate Republican Steering Committee among those of us who want to pick something that we can all go arm-in-arm with.

GOP Sens. Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyCongress must protect federal watchdogs Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election Republicans release newly declassified intelligence document on FBI source Steele MORE (Iowa), Steve DainesSteven (Steve) David DainesOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senior Interior official contacted former employer, violating ethics pledge: watchdog | Ag secretary orders environmental rollbacks for Forest Service | Senate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Ag secretary orders environmental rollbacks for Forest Service Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election MORE (Mont.), Mike EnziMichael (Mike) Bradley EnziRepublicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election GOP senators dodge on treatment of White House protesters House GOP lawmakers urge Senate to confirm Vought MORE (Wyo.), John BarrassoJohn Anthony BarrassoRepublicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election GOP senators urge Trump to back off Murkowski threat House Democrats roll out 0B green transportation infrastructure bill MORE (Wyo.), Jim RischJames (Jim) Elroy RischRepublicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election GOP's Obama-era probes fuel Senate angst Democrat Paulette Jordan to face incumbent Jim Risch in Idaho Senate race MORE (Idaho), Mike LeeMichael (Mike) Shumway LeeOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Senior Interior official contacted former employer, violating ethics pledge: watchdog | Ag secretary orders environmental rollbacks for Forest Service | Senate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election Senate advances public lands bill in late-night vote MORE (Utah) and Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiRepublicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election Milley discussed resigning from post after Trump photo-op: report OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill MORE (Alaska) have co-sponsored Portmans bill.

Lee confirmed that government shutdown prevention legislation was discussed at one of the Senate Republican Steering Committees recent lunches.

I like it, he said. Were co-sponsors of several iterations of that.

Its always a concern, Lee said of a potential shutdown fight in September. Thats why we need reforms."

Id like to take that risk off the table, he said.

Excerpt from:
Republicans start bracing for shutdown fight in run-up to election | TheHill - The Hill

For years Republicans have spoken privately about their disgust with President Trump's racist tactics, focus on dividing us, and general incompetence. But at some point elected Republicans will distance themselves from all things Trump and Trumpism or risk being polluted with the association forever.

As the last few years have shown, the self-described party of law and order, of a hawkish defense, is in fact a cavalcade of wimps. Their fear of Trump prevents them from following their conscience and speaking publicly against his most outrageous actions.

When Trump is sufficiently weak be it before Election Day or after he likely loses they'll start pretending that they were against his controversial ways all along, betting on the fact that swing voters have short memories. The Trump stain has alienated suburban white women, working-class white women, young nonwhite voters, and other key demographics in large numbers. That will hurt all Republicans this November.

The question is what happens after the Trump presidency has faded into a frightening memory.

Throughout the last Presidential campaign, many Republicans spoke out against Trump. Sen. Cory Gardner said his "flaws are beyond mere moral shortcomings." Sen. Mike Crapo withdrew his endorsement. Rep. Martha Roby called him "unacceptable as a candidate." Sen. Lindsay Graham labeled him a "race-baiting xenophobic religious bigot." The list goes on.

The most notable Never Trumper was Mitt Romney, but he was too late, calling Trump out for his con man status after his Super Tuesday surge.

Since Trump's inauguration, there have been few glimmers of a spine in the GOP with a President who has separated immigrant families, defended white supremacists, attacked the integrity of the Justice Department, mismanaged the response to the pandemic, and called for military force against American citizens.

Over the course of his tumultuous first term, Trump has lost some Republicans with greater intestinal fortitude, like Rep. Justin Amash who had to leave the GOP in order to make a stand. Generally the loudest voices among other disgusted Republicans are not in office.

More commonly, elected Republicans have been too chicken to do more than stray mildly and briefly from Trump during his most un-ignorable atrocities. Trump's racist attacks on Democratic congresswomen in 2019, for example, led to distancing and disapproval from some GOP allies that evaporated at the speed of the news cycle. How easy it is to forget or ignore each offense rather than stand up to the source.

This year, of course, has brought us new depths in the Trump presidency, and the volume of recriminations has begun to increase. Former defense secretary James Mattis sent shock waves by denouncing Trump as a threat to the Constitution, and just on Thursday top general Mark Milley apologized for participating in Trump's controversial photo op. Ex-White House chief of staff John Kelly has questioned the President's ethics and encouraged Americans to "look harder at who we elect."

And The New York Times now reports that former President George W. Bush will not support Trump's re-election while Cindy McCain is almost certain to support Biden. With each week it seems a new voice joins the chorus.

But they are all formers: former presidents, former cabinet secretaries, former chiefs of staff. The real voices that need to speak up are the current elected Republicans. But that doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon.

If the past three years are any guide, Sen. Romney and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who announced that she might not back Trump in November, will be lonely voices for country over party. Murkowski has never been afraid of Trump, and Romney followed the truth and his conscience during impeachment.

Most other elected Republicans will remain muted, avoiding uncomfortable topics in public while secretly wishing Trump would go away.

In November he will, inevitably, be revealed a loser. And politics hates losers.

Republicans will find ways to apologize for and distance themselves from Trump after four years of clinging to him. That's what politicians do.

But whether you're a Republican who rejects Trump's obscenity or an independent who votes for the individual, remember the GOP lawmakers who caved to Trumpism next time you're in the voting booth. Remember the moments they stayed silent during the most shameful time in modern American history.

We can't let the stain of the past four years be washed off Republicans who were too weak to restrain this president when the country so desperately needed them.

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Republicans are going to bear the Trump stain for years to come - Business Insider - Business Insider

WASHINGTON It was one thing in 2016 for top Republicans to take a stand against Donald Trump: He wasnt likely to win, the thinking went, and there was no ongoing conservative governing agenda that would be endangered.

The 2020 campaign is different. Opposing the sitting president of your own party means putting policy priorities at risk such as appointing conservative judges, sustaining business-friendly regulations and cutting taxes as well as incurring the volcanic wrath of Trump.

But, far sooner than they expected, growing numbers of prominent Republicans are debating how far to go in revealing that they wont back his re-election or might even vote for Democrat Joe Biden. Theyre feeling a fresh urgency because of Trumps incendiary response to the police protests, atop his mishandling of the pandemic, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Former President George W. Bush wont support Trumps re-election, and Jeb Bush isnt sure how hell vote, say people familiar with their thinking. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah wont back Trump and is deliberating whether to again write in his wife, Ann, or cast another ballot this November.

And Sen. John McCains widow, Cindy, is almost certain to support Biden but is unsure how public to be about it because one of her sons is eyeing a run for office.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced Sunday that he will vote for Biden, telling CNN that Trump lies about things and Republicans in Congress wont hold him accountable. Powell, who voted for former President Barack Obama, as well as Hillary Clinton, said he was close to Biden politically and socially and had worked with him for more than 35 years. Ill be voting for him, he said.

None of these Republicans voted for Trump in 2016, but the reproach of big Republican names carries a different weight when an incumbent president and his shared agenda with Senate leaders are on the line.

GOP leaders like former Speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner wont say how they will vote, and some Republicans who are already disinclined to support Trump are weighing whether to go beyond backing a third-party contender to openly endorsing Biden.

Retired military leaders, who have guarded their private views, are increasingly voicing their unease.

Biden intends to roll out his Republicans for Biden coalition later in the campaign, after fully consolidating his own party, according to Democrats familiar with the planning.

The public expressions of opposition to Trump from parts of the Republican and military establishment have accelerated in recent days over his repeated calls for protesters to be physically constrained, dominated, as he put it, and his administrations order to forcefully clear the streets outside the White House so he could walk out for a photo opportunity. His conduct has convinced some leaders that they can no longer remain silent.

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis blistering criticism of Trump this past week and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowskis admission that she is struggling with whether to vote for Trump have intensified the soul-searching taking place, forcing a number of officials to reckon with an act that they have long avoided: saying out loud that Trump is unfit for office.

This fall, its time for new leadership in this country Republican, Democrat or independent, said William McRaven, the retired Navy admiral who directed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. President Trump has shown he doesnt have the qualities necessary to be a good commander in chief.

McRaven, in an interview on the 76th anniversary of D-Day, noted that those wartime leaders inspired Americans with their words, their actions and their humanity.

In contrast, he said, Trump has failed his leadership test. As we have struggled with the COVID pandemic and horrible acts of racism and injustice, this president has shown none of those qualities, McRaven said. The country needs to move forward without him at the helm.

Trump won election in 2016 despite a parade of Republicans and retired military officers who refused to support him. Far more current GOP elected officials are publicly backing Trump than did four years ago. Among his unwavering supporters are GOP leaders like Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, and past foes like Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham. And polls today indicate that rank-and-file Republicans are squarely behind the president, although that is in part because some Republicans who cant abide Trump now align with independents.

Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida has donated millions of dollars to GOP candidates, served as Bushs ambassador to the Vatican and hasnt voted for a Democrat in decades.

But Rooney, who is not seeking re-election, said he is considering supporting Biden in part because Trump is driving us all crazy and his handling of the virus led to a death toll that didnt have to happen.

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Some Republican leaders struggle with whether to vote for Trump - Minneapolis Star Tribune