In a shocking move, longtime Republican strategist Steve Schmidt today quit the Republican party and denounced President Trump and his administration for having “disgraced their country and brought dishonor to the Party of Lincoln.”
Schmidt has been outspoken and a maverick before, endorsing gay rights and marriage equality, but he has also been a major presence in Republican politics serving in the administration of George W. Bush, acting as campaign manager for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and as a senior advisor in the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain.
Schmidt’s twitter storm began on Father’s Day when he said how important his family was to him but that it has been a terrible day “because of the evil that is being done to children in the name of the people of the United States by this vile and venal cabal running the country”
His frustration and anger grew over Trump’s adversary performance at the G-7 summit and exploded over his policy of separating immigrant families.
Schmidt finally had enough late last night and took to Twitter to repudiate the party he has long supported.
29 years and nine months ago I registered to vote and became a member of The Republican Party which was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery and stand for the dignity of human life. Today I renounce my membership in the Republican Party. It is fully the party of Trump.
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 20, 2018
His disgust for Trump made it immoral for him to continue to support him or the party he has perverted, he said tweeting about what happened to Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Niesen in a restaurant over the weekend.
This venal administration and vile President.
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 20, 2018
He said the Republican party has been taken over by Trump and that is a disaster that will go down in history as one of the worst administrations of all time.
I have spent much of my life working in GOP politics. I have always believed that both parties were two of the most important institutions to the advancement of human freedom and dignity in the history of the world. Today the GOP has become a danger to our democracy and values.
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 20, 2018
He charges that those who have become complicit with Trump are also guilty.
On Ronald Reagan’s grave are these words. “ I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.” He would be ashamed of McConnell and Ryan and all the rest while this corrupt government
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 20, 2018
In the ultimate insult to the Republicans, Schmidt said there is no other choice now except to vote for and support the Democratic party.
This Independent voter will be aligned with the only party left in America that stands for what is right and decent and remains fidelitous to our Republic, objective truth, the rule of law and our Allies. That party is the Democratic Party.
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 20, 2018
Schmidt is the rare politician who appears to have a moral core that doesn’t allow him to just pretend everything is alright.
This is not the first time he has admitted making a mistake.
In his new memoir, the Washington Post points out, Sen. John McCain recalled that in 2008 Schmidt, who was second in the campaign only to campaign manager Rick Davis, strongly supported the choice of then Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
“Schmidt made the case for her, which essentially boiled down to ‘she could shake up the race and the other candidates can’t,’” McCain wrote. “She was a fresh face, an outspoken reformer, a wife and mother who had fought the special interests and won.”
Later Schmidt realized Palin was unqualified and the wrong choice, as was dramatized in the HBO movie Game Change in which Schmidt is portrayed by actor Woody Harrelson.
Schmidt told the Los Angels Times that the 2012 movie “tells the truth of the campaign.”
Now Schmidt has told the truth about Trump and may have put his own career in jeopardy.
He currently is a Vice Chairman of the high powered public relations firm Edelman, which has many Republican clients and also is a political analyst on MSNBC, where he portrays the voice of the sane Republican.
Now he has proven he is sane by denouncing Trump, but he is no longer a Republican and may find it difficult to fit in among Democrats after years of opposing them at every level. It’s also hard to understand how he made it nearly two years into the Trump administration before throwing in the towel, but we appreciate the gesture nonetheless.