Seventy-five career diplomats said in a letter Thursday that they will never vote for Donald Trump, claiming he has “insulted” America’s allies and displayed a level of ignorance that could embolden our enemies.
“None of us will vote for Donald J. Trump,” declared the signatories, all of whom simultaneously endorsed the Democratic presidential ticket. “Very simply, this election is different from any election we can recall. One of the candidates — Donald J. Trump — is entirely unqualified to serve as president and commander in chief.”
Those behind the letter — including Susan Burk, former special representative of President Obama for Nuclear Nonproliferation; James Cunningham, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Israel and the United Nations; Jeffrey Davidow, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico; and Thomas Pickering, former undersecretary of state for Political Affairs and U.S. ambassador to Russia, India, Israel and the United Nations — described Trump as “ignorant of the complex nature of the challenges facing our country” and uninterested “in being educated.”
“He has recently demonstrated he entirely misunderstands and disrespects the role of the very officials who could educate him: the senior career officers of our intelligence services and of our military services,” they wrote, citing Trump’s recent claim that America’s top generals have been “reduced to rubble.”
“Each of us endorses Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine,” the letter continued. “Because the stakes in this election are so high, this is the first time many of us have publicly endorsed a candidate for president.”
The letter comes a little over a month after 50 conservative national security officials issued similar complaints against Trump in their own letter of opposition, though they declined to endorse his Democratic opponent.
Trump trails Clinton by 2.1 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics national polling average. Both candidates will meet for the first presidential debate in Hempstead, N.Y., on Monday.
Former Ambassadors Sign Letter
