Fresh batch of Republicans defect to Clinton

A former aide of President George W. Bush undercut Donald Trump’s economic address before it even began Monday, leading the latest batch of Republican defections by casting Hillary Clinton as the best candidate to grow the economy.

“Our nation faces a unique set of challenges that require steady and experienced leadership. That is why today I am personally supporting Hillary Clinton,” Lezlee Westine said in a statement to The Washington Post.



Westine, who served as the White House’s director of public liaison and deputy assistant to the president in the Bush administration, is part of the latest contingent of Republicans to cross party lines to back Clinton.


“She has the expertise and commitment to American values to grow the economy, create jobs and protect America at home and abroad,” Westine added.

Westine is joined by former Michigan Gov. William Milliken, who suggested a vote for Trump would be a choice to “embark on a path that has doomed other governments and nations throughout history.”

“I am saddened and dismayed that the Republican Party this year has nominated a candidate who has repeatedly demonstrated that he does not embrace those ideals,” Milliken said in a statement, according to the Detroit Free Press. “Because I feel so strongly about our nation's future, I will be joining the growing list of former and present government officials in casting my vote for Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.”

Former New Hampshire Sen. Gordon Humphrey said he would cast his ballot for Clinton if she were “neck and neck” with Trump in his state. But Trump, he said, is a “defective nominee” who is “deranged” and whose “psyche is sick,” and the Republican National Committee should replace him as the nominee.

“It would be the height of irresponsibility to give him the powers of the presidency. It would be an act of recklessness to give him the office of commander in chief,” he told MSNBC on Monday. “This needs to be said, and there’s a growing census in agreement that Donald Trump is mentally unfit to be president of the United States. And the RNC on that account, this week or next, should revoke the nomination and choose a candidate who is experienced, but at the same time, of mental soundness.”