Retired Gen. Hayden, former CIA director under Bush, backs Biden over Trump in powerful new ad

Dylan Stableford
·Senior Writer
Updated ·2 min read

Retired Gen. Michael Hayden, who served as director of the CIA and the National Security Agency under President George W. Bush, endorsed Joe Biden in a powerful new video ad released Tuesday night by Republican Voters Against Trump, a group of conservatives who believe the GOP incumbent is dangerously unfit for office.

“If there’s another term for President Trump, I don’t know what happens to America,” Hayden says in the 90-second spot.

The 75-year-old suffers from aphasia as a result of a stroke in 2018, making it difficult for him to speak.

“Truth is really important, but especially in intelligence,” Hayden says. “President Trump doesn’t care about facts. President Trump doesn’t care about the truth. He doesn’t listen to his experts.”

“The FBI says white nationalism is a real problem, and the FBI wants to do something about it,” Hayden continues, “but the president doesn’t want to talk about that.”

Trump has long declined to publicly distance himself from hate groups that support him, infamously declaring that there were “very fine people on both sides” of a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. During the first presidential debate, Trump refused to condemn the far-right group Proud Boys when asked if he would do so, instead telling them to “stand back and stand by.”

“He doesn’t keep the country safe,” Hayden says in the ad. “It’s unbelievable.”

The retired four-star general, who spent 40 years in the Air Force, said he fears Trump has endangered the country’s relationships with its allies.

“Alliances are wonderful. Alliances are win-win. And now I don’t know what’s happening to our alliances,” Hayden says. “I mean it. I think if Trump gets another term, I think many alliances will be gone, and America will be alone.”

While Hayden “absolutely” disagrees with some of Biden’s policies, he says “that’s not important.”

“What’s important is the United States, and I’m supporting Joe Biden,” he concludes. “Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not.”

Hayden is one of many Republican-affiliated intelligence and national security officials who have spoken out against Trump, a departure for a group that often prefers to remain out of the partisan fray. Among that group, Hayden stands out for his blunt language.

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