50 GOP national security experts sign letter opposing Donald Trump

(Image credit: Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

last updated 9 August 2016

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump doesn't think the public should pay any mind to a letter signed by dozens of former GOP national security officials who believe his presidency would "put at risk our country's national security and well-being."

"The names on this letter are the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess, and we thank them for coming forward so everyone in the country knows who deserve the blame for making the world such a dangerous place," Trump said in a statement released Monday evening. "They are nothing more than the failed Washington elite looking to hold onto their power, and it's time they are held accountable for their actions."

The letter, published Monday in The New York Times, was signed by former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden, former Homeland Security Secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, and former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte. "Unlike previous presidents who had limited experience in foreign affairs, Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself," the letter said. "He continues to display an alarming ignorance of basic facts of contemporary international politics." The letter also says Trump has "none of the critical qualities" needed in a president, including discipline and the ability to control emotions, and he "lacks self control and acts impetuously."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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