AP Photo 50 top GOP officials: Trump would 'risk our country's national security'

Donald Trump's effort to appeal to establishment Republicans suffered another setback on Monday as 50 senior GOP national security officials warned in a new letter that Trump would "risk our country’s national security and well-being.”

The signatories of the letter, which was first reported by The New York Times, all worked in Republican administrations, with many serving as top aides to President George W. Bush. They said none of them would be voting for Trump.


“Trump lacks the character, values, and experience to be President,” they wrote. “He weakens U.S. moral authority as the leader of the free world. He appears to lack basic knowledge about and belief in the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, and U.S. institutions, including religious tolerance, freedom of the press, and an independent judiciary.”

The letter signers include Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency, two former secretaries of homeland security, and John Negroponte, who served as director of national intelligence and deputy secretary of state. None of the living Republican former secretaries of state signed the letter.

Trump responded to the letter in a statement issued by his campaign, blaming the signees for the Iraq War and accusing them of profiting off their positions.

"The names on this letter are the ones American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess," Trump said in the statement. "These insiders — along with Hillary Clinton — are the owners of the disastrous decisions to invade Iraq, allow Americans to die in Benghazi, and they are the ones who allowed the rise of ISIS."

Although the signatories said they would not be voting for Trump, they did express concerns about Hillary Clinton as well.

“We also know that many have doubts about Hillary Clinton, as do many of us,” they wrote. “But Donald Trump is not the answer to America’s daunting challenges and to this crucial election. We are convinced that in the Oval Office, he would be the most reckless President in American history.”