While noting that they have their disagreements with Hillary Clinton, Republicans on the conference call praised her debate performance and temperament. | AP Photo Clinton camp rolls out more GOP endorsements

Hillary Clinton’s campaign announced the endorsement of another batch of Republicans on Thursday.

Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta announced the 40 endorsements in a conference call with reporters, and highlighted Monday’s presidential debate, suggesting the former secretary of state’s performance bolstered her support among Republicans while labeling Donald Trump’s showing as representative of his lack of qualifications for the Oval Office.


While noting that they have their disagreements with Clinton, Republicans on the call praised Clinton’s debate performance, as well as her temperament, judgment, resume, ability to work in bipartisan fashion and history of public service. They also echoed a theme of the Clinton campaign: that she's the candidate who could provide a better life their children and grandchildren — and they excoriated Trump, criticizing his temperament, his qualifications and his offensive rhetoric toward women and minorities.

“I have to tell you,” former Rhode Island Rep. Claudine Schneider began, “it is very offensive to me that we have the first candidate ever running for president who routinely disparages half of our population, and to me that’s absolutely unthinkable for the Oval Office.”

Jim Cicconi, a former deputy chief of staff under President George H.W. Bush who previously endorsed Clinton, panned the Republican presidential nominee during the call.

“In my view, Donald Trump may well be the least qualified, least intelligent and least stable person ever nominated by a major party to be president,” he told reporters. “I have to wonder if he can’t control himself at a campaign lectern, how he could control himself in a genuine crisis? In my personal view, he’s a man dangerously unsuited for the office and I think he’s a man who should never be entrusted with real power over the lives of others.”

The list of new endorsements includes Schneider, former New York Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, former White House Situation Room director Deborah Loewer and Nicholas Rostow, who worked in both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush’s administrations.