Prominent conservative and longtime Trump critic Charlie Sykes has declared his support for Vice President Kamala Harris, urging other conservatives to vote for her as well, calling the moment “an emergency” and stressing that Donald Trump is unfit to return to the presidency. In a column for MSNBC on Monday, Sykes made his stance clear, emphasizing the importance of putting the country over party in this critical time.
“This is the theme echoed by essentially all of the conservatives who have broken ranks: We may disagree on policy, but this is an emergency,” Sykes wrote. “And in every genuine crisis, people of goodwill put aside their differences. When the emergency passes, we can go back to arguing about other things; but right now, the moment demands that we make common cause, and put country over party.
Even, and especially, if that means voting for Kamala Harris.” Sykes criticized conservatives who reject Trump but are unwilling to support Harris, warning that such reluctance only strengthens Trump’s chances of returning to the White House. He cited notable anti-Trump Republicans, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), and former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), as well as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former President George W. Bush, and former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton.
“Many of these officials and pundits recognize the dangers that Trump poses, but want to preserve their ‘relevance’ in the party; others clearly hope for Trump’s defeat but want to keep their hands clean by staying above the fray and casting a write-in vote,” Sykes explained.
Aligning himself with what he called the “newly minted pro-Harris conservatives,” Sykes declared his intent to vote for the Democratic nominee, joining a growing list of conservatives who have broken with their party over Trump. He mentioned other prominent figures who have also endorsed Harris, including former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and former Sens. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS).
Sykes emphasized that the significance of these GOP defections should not be underestimated. He referenced a piece he wrote for The Atlantic, where he noted, “Before Trump, the ideological divide between Harris and conservative Republicans might have been too large to bridge. But this is not a normal campaign.”
In his concluding remarks, Sykes stressed that this election transcends traditional ideological and political differences. “The newly minted pro-Harris conservatives recognize that this election isn’t about those things at all,” he wrote. “They recognize that a second Trump term will transcend typical ideological/political differences.”