Here’s another Republican who served in the George W. Bush administration endorsing Hillary Clinton. Carlos Gutierrez, former secretary of commerce under President George W. Bush, has endorsed Hillary Clinton, adding to a number of prominent Republicans who are siding with the other side of the aisle in this election.
This is particularly important for the Florida vote given Mr. Gutierrez Cuban heritage and the large Cuban population in Florida. Florida is a state that Trump (must) win and a state that Hillary Clinton (will most) probably win.
“I actually think Hillary Clinton has the experience, she’s been around, she knows how the system works. I think she’d make a darn good president,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I would have preferred Jeb Bush, but I think Hillary is a great choice. I am afraid of what Donald Trump would do to this country.”
"I have one resume here for Donald Trump, I have one resume here for Hillary Clinton, and I've chosen this resume," Gutierrez said, indicating Clinton. "I think this person, Hillary Clinton, is the best for the country. I'm not thinking about (it as) a Republican, I'm thinking about (it as) a US citizen. I think at some point, you have to put the party aside and say what's best for the country? I don't want to live in a society that I think Donald Trump will create."
Gutierrez said he felt he couldn’t support Trump following his racially insensitive comments in June, including one about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel. At the time, Trump demanded Curiel recuse himself from the fraud cases against Trump University because his campaign’s position on illegal immigration created an “absolute conflict” with the judge, who is of Mexican descent.
“That for me was the end of it,” Gutierrez said. “I don’t want to go back fifty years.”
Mr. Gutierrez joins fellow Floridian and Cuban born congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who also stated this week that she cannot support her party’s candidate, Donald J. Trump.
Gutierrez and Ros-Lehtinen joined a growing number of fellow Republicans this week including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Richard Hanna of New York and Scott Rigell of Virginia stating that they couldn’t and wouldn’t vote or endorse Trump. Also, 70 top Republicans including national security experts recently signed a letter saying Trump would “risk our country’s national security and well-being.”