Former U.S. Attorney Ditches GOP Over ‘Dangerous Demagogue’ Donald Trump

Marcos Daniel Jiménez isn't buying Trump's "law and order" act.
Marcos Daniel Jiménez said he is no longer a member of the Republican Party because it has turned into a "party of hate."
Marcos Daniel Jiménez said he is no longer a member of the Republican Party because it has turned into a "party of hate."
Joe Raedle/Getty Images via Getty Images

Marcos Daniel Jiménez, a former U.S attorney appointed by President George W. Bush, rescinded his Republican Party membership Monday night in a private Facebook post claiming the party’s core principles had been hijacked by an unstable leader.

“I have decided that I will no longer be associated in any way with a party that is led by a bigoted, dangerous demagogue and that has become a party dominated by fear, anger and hate,” said the status, first reported by Politico.

In the post, Jiménez appeared to take a shot at GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. “Republicans should make no mistake about this,” he wrote. “You now clearly belong to the party of hate … you are supporting a strongman who believes all of that.”

Trump has dubbed himself the “law and order candidate,” but Jiménez ― whose LinkedIn profile says he was “head of the largest organized crime drug enforcement task force in the U.S.” during his time as a U.S. attorney ― doesn’t seem to buy it.

Jiménez told The Huffington Post via email that his Facebook page is private, and that’s why his post was not visible to the public. He said that what he wrote “is self-explanatory” and later sent HuffPost the full next of his post, which appears at the end of this article.

Jiménez is just the latest example of a Republican jumping ship over the party’s presidential nominee. Since Trump’s ascension, a handful of influential Republican leaders have bowed out of the GOP. Last month, prominent conservative journalist and commentator George Will changed his voter registration to “unaffiliated” and Iowa state Sen. David Johnson switched from Republican to independent.

At the Republican National Convention last week, chaos erupted when delegates began a “roll call” chant in a last-ditch effort to present a united front against the Trump campaign. The scene exposed the lingering tension between Trump supporters and the so-called Never Trump movement.

Here is the full text of Jiménez’s Facebook message:

This has not been easy to write, and I’ve thought a lot about it. God has blessed me and my family beyond our dreams. I’ve had the privilege and honor to see my brother work for Governor Jeb Bush, to be appointed to a Senate-confirmed office by President George W. Bush, and see my brother also appointed to a Senate-confirmed office by the same president.

But I have decided that I will no longer be associated in any way with a party that is led by a bigoted, dangerous demagogue and has become dominated by fear, anger and hate.

Republicans should make no mistake about this. You now clearly belong to the party of hate - build the wall, lock her up, make our NATO allies pay, deport 11 million aliens, ban the Muslims, kill terrorists’ families, slander the “Mexican” judge born in Indiana, incite violence at rallies, hide your tax returns, attract white supremacists and anti-semites, mock the disabled, insult others continuously, and stiff the small businessman. Yes, you are supporting a strongman who believes all of that.

This Putin admirer has never served our country. If elected, he would be the first president who has never served in either government or the military. His only prior service has been to himself - - in reality TV, cut-corner business deals, and a “university” that took advantage of the people he now purports to defend. He is a coward who will insult a heroic veteran that suffered in a North Vietnamese prison, betting that you will ignore that he did not serve and make a similar sacrifice.

The Republican leaders in Congress, and many Republicans in federal and state government, are too timid to stand up to him. To my Republican friends in Congress or other public office, I wish you the best, but I will no longer contribute to your campaigns or any other Republican cause. You are now led by a racist. (For those who still doubt Trump’s racism and the racism he inspires, see the 10 articles in the comments below.)

When I was first eligible, I was fortunate to vote for President Reagan, who famously said that he didn’t leave the Democratic Party but that the party left him. I feel the same. The Republican Party left me. After more than 30 years, and as of last Friday when I mailed in my new registration form, I’m no longer a Republican. I am now an independent, because I didn’t sign up for what the Republican Party has become and will not belong to a party that would nominate a man that is an embarrassment to our democracy.

This story has been updated with the full text of Jiménez’s Facebook post.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

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