‘‘When it comes to the presidency, I will not vote for Donald Trump,’’ Paulson wrote. ‘‘I will not cast a write-in vote. I’ll be voting for Hillary Clinton, with the hope that she can bring Americans together to do the things necessary to strengthen our economy, our environment and our place in the world. To my Republican friends: I know I’m not alone.’’

WASHINGTON — Richard Armitage, Henry Paulson, Brent Scowcroft. Three big-name former George W. Bush administration officials in the past few weeks have announced that they are supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016 — all because Donald Trump is simply a bridge too far for them.


He’s not. And below are the big names that are with Paulson — or, perhaps more accurately, with her (Clinton).

(While many, many Republicans have declined to embrace Trump’s candidacy, a growing but significantly smaller group has gone so far as to publicly express support for Clinton. This list focuses on the latter.)

Members of Congress

Representative Richard Hanna of New York, a moderate Republican who is retiring this year, told Syracuse.com that he will support Clinton and that Trump is unfit to lead. He cited Trump’s of Khizr Khan. ‘‘I think Trump is a national embarrassment,’’ Hanna said. ‘‘Is he really the guy you want to have the nuclear codes?’’

Bush administration officials

Henry Paulson, treasury secretary

Richard Armitage, deputy secretary of state and adviser to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush — Trump ‘‘doesn’t appear to be a Republican, he doesn’t appear to want to learn about issues. So I’m going to vote for Mrs. Clinton.’’

Brent Scowcroft, chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and adviser to three previous GOP presidents — ‘‘The presidency requires the judgment and knowledge to make tough calls under pressure . . . [Clinton] has the wisdom and experience to lead our country at this critical time.’’


Alan Steinberg, regional EPA administrator

Kori Schake, National Security Council and State Department aide

Officials in previous GOP administrations

Doug Elmets, former Reagan spokesman — ‘‘I could live with four years of Hillary Clinton before I could ever live with one day of Donald Trump as president.’’ Elmets spoke at the Democratic National Convention, along with other Republicans now backing Clinton.

Jim Cicconi, former Reagan and George H.W. Bush aide — ‘‘Hillary Clinton is experienced, qualified and will make a fine president. The alternative, I fear, would set our nation on a very dark path.’’

Charles Fried, US solicitor general under Reagan and current Harvard Law School professor — ‘‘Though long a registered Republican, this will be the third consecutive presidential election in which my party forces the choice between party and, in John McCain’s words, putting America first. . . . It is to [Mitt] Romney’s credit that this year, like John Paulson and George Will, he is standing up against the brutal, substantively incoherent, and authoritarian tendencies of Donald Trump.

Foreign policy leaders

Robert Kagan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, former Reagan State Department aide and adviser to the campaigns of John McCain and Mitt Romney

Max Boot, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and adviser to GOP presidential candidates — ‘‘I’m literally losing sleep over Donald Trump. She would be vastly preferable to Trump.’’

Peter Mansoor, retired Army colonel and former aide to David Petraeus — ‘‘It will be the first Democratic presidential candidate I’ve voted for in my adult life.’’


Business leaders/donors

Marc Andreessen, venture capitalist — ‘‘[Silicon] Valley wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be doing any of this if we didn’t have the amazing flow of immigrants that we’ve had in the last 80 years. And the idea of choking that off just makes me sick to my stomach.’’

Dan Akerson, former chairman and chief executive of General Motors — ‘‘Serving as the leader of the free world requires effective leadership, sound judgment, a steady hand and, most importantly, the temperament to deal with crises large and small. Donald Trump lacks each of these characteristics.’’

Chuck Robbins, chief executive of Cisco

Hamid Moghadam, chairman and chief executive of Prologis — ‘‘Our country is about tolerance and inclusion and that’s why, as a lifelong Republican supporter, I endorse Hillary Clinton for president in this election.’’

William Oberndorf, $3 million to GOP candidates since 2012 — ‘‘If it is Trump vs. Clinton, and there is no viable third-party candidate, I will be voting for Hillary Clinton.’’

Mike Fernandez, $4 million to GOP candidates in recent years — ‘‘If I have a choice — and you can put it in bold — if I have a choice between Trump and Hillary Clinton, I’m choosing Hillary. She’s the lesser of two evils.’’

Former Republican elected officials

Larry Pressler, former three-term Republican senator from South Dakota who lost an independent campaign for his old seat in 2014 — ‘‘I can’t believe I’m endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, but I am. If someone had told me 10 years ago I would do this, I wouldn’t have believed them.’’


Arne Carlson, a former two-term Republican governor of Minnesota who supported President Obama

Robert Smith, former judge on New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals — ‘‘This year, I’m going to vote for a Democrat for president — the first time I’ve done it in 36 years — and I think the decision is easy. Hillary Clinton is the only responsible choice, and I don’t understand why so few of my fellow conservatives see it that way.’’

Political operatives

Mark Salter, former top adviser to John McCain — ‘‘Whatever Hillary Clinton’s faults, she’s not ignorant or hateful or a nut. She acts like an adult and understands the responsibilities of an American president. That might not be a ringing endorsement. But in 2016, the year of Trump’s s campaign, it’s more than enough.’’

Sally Bradshaw, former top Jeb Bush adviser, told told CNN that she had left the Republican Party to become an independent due to Donald Trump’s presence at the top of the ticket — and that if the race were close in her home state of Florida this fall, she would be voting for Hillary Clinton. ‘‘As much as I don’t want another four years of Obama’s policies, I can’t look my children in the eye and tell them I voted for Donald Trump.’’

Maria Comella, former spokeswoman for two of Trump’s top backers, Chris Christie and Rudy Giuliani — ‘‘Instead of speaking out against instances of bigotry, racism and inflammatory rhetoric whether it’s been against women, immigrants, or Muslims, we made a calculus that it was better to say nothing at all in the interest of politics and winning elections.’’


Mike Treiser, former Mitt Romney aide — ‘‘In the face of bigotry, hatred, violence, and small-mindedness, this time, I’m with her.’’

Craig Snyder, former chief of staff to then-Republican former senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and also an ex-colleague of former top Trump adviser Roger Stone and current top Trump adviser Paul Manafort.

Journalists

Ben Howe, contributing editor at RedState.com