To my Republican friends:
Having lived in a “red” state for 30 years, I have made many friends, like you, who are Republicans. Some have left the Republican Party over the presence of former President Donald Trump. But, if the polls are correct, many of you still identify as Republicans and plan to cast a vote for Trump this year.
However, this is not a traditional choice between a Democrat and a Republican. Instead, it is between a Democrat and a non-democrat. By non-democrat, I mean someone who does not believe in the fundamentals of a democratic republic. You may think I am exaggerating, but bear with me as we examine the record.
Jan. 6: Trump urged his supporters to come to Washington that day because it would be “wild.” When he spoke to the crowd, he encouraged them to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” for their country. When his supporters breached the barricades, assaulted police officers, trashed the Capitol and threatened the life of the vice president, Trump did not stop it for hours. He even praised them. Those are not the words of someone who believes in democratic processes.
The big lie: Trump lied to the American people by repeatedly claiming that he had not lost the 2020 election. We now know that multiple advisers, including his own attorney general, told him he legitimately lost it. Yet still today, he is repeating a lie he knows is not true and attempting to gaslight his supporters.
False electors: Trump approved the naming of false electors in various states to replace the legitimately elected electors. The false electors were intended to allow Trump to stay in power after he had lost the election. No president in history has ever done such a thing.
Intimidating state election officials and legislators: Trump made a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, telling him to find the 11,000 votes Trump needed to win the state. Raffensperger informed Trump that elections did not work that way. They could not simply give him votes he did not get. In response, Trump threatened that Raffensperger could be criminally charged for not running the election correctly. In Arizona, he intimidated Rusty Bowers, speaker of the House, by claiming there was evidence of election fraud in Arizona and that Bowers needed to call a special session of the Arizona legislature to certify the Trump electors rather than the legitimately elected Biden electors. Bowers refused, telling Trump that he was not going to violate his oath of office to accommodate Trump.
Trump’s appointees’ warnings: The people closest to Trump while he was president, all Republicans, are warning us. Former Secretary of Defense Mike Esper says that Trump will use the military against civilians, which makes him a “threat to democracy.” Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley called Trump “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person to this country.” Former White House Chief of Staff Gen. John Kelly said that Trump “has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.” It is telling that his own former vice president, Mike Pence, refuses to endorse him.
If Donald Trump had a D after his name, would you downplay this behavior? I don’t think so. You would see his actions as a threat to our nation and determine such a person should never be in the Oval Office again.
I plead with you not to vote for this non-democrat. Our country’s future as a democratic republic is at stake. Trump will jeopardize that.
Trump has said that if he loses this election, he will not run again. If Trump, and what he stands for, is eliminated from the Republican Party, then we can return to contests between Democrats and Republicans — both committed to democratic processes. If Trump loses, the Republican Party can recover itself, put forward a conservative who will compete with a Democrat over policy positions and return to the ideological competition we are known for. To keep America great and the Constitution secure, don’t vote for Donald Trump.
Richard Davis is the author of “Faith and Politics: Latter-day Saint Politicians Tell Their Stories.”