Former intelligence chief Michael Hayden is the latest conservative national security figure to endorse Joe Biden over President Trump.
Hayden, a retired four-star Air Force general who served as director of the National Security Agency and later the CIA under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, said in a video posted Tuesday that he does not believe the country could survive another term under Trump’s leadership. He also said the incumbent is not honest enough to lead the country, especially the intelligence agencies.
“If there’s another term for President Trump, I don’t know what happens to America. Truth is really important, but especially in intelligence. President Trump doesn’t care about facts,” Hayden said in an ad from Republican Voters Against Trump.
“President Trump doesn’t care about the truth. He doesn’t listen to his experts. The FBI says white nationalism is a real problem, and the FBI wants to do something about it, but the president doesn’t want to talk about that. He doesn’t keep the country safe,” he added.
This is what I believe. https://t.co/lp6GW38w0d
— Gen Michael Hayden (@GenMhayden) October 7, 2020
Hayden, who suffers from aphasia as a result of a stroke in 2018, expressed concern over Trump’s relationship with U.S. allies and said that his foreign policy could leave the United States alone on the world stage. He admitted that he does not support all of Biden’s policies, but said he would not vote for Trump.
“I absolutely disagree with some of Biden’s policies, but that’s not important. What’s important is the United States, and I’m supporting Joe Biden. Biden is a good man, Donald Trump is not,” Hayden said.
Hayden declined to endorse either Trump or Hillary Clinton in 2016, though he said he believed Clinton was better equipped to lead the country because Trump was “incoherent.”
Trump has been highly critical of U.S. intelligence agencies since the FBI began to investigate his campaign for ties to Russia. Several other prominent figures in the national security community have also endorsed Biden.
