DHS chief of staff under Trump endorses Biden, describes 'terrifying' dealings with president

One of the Department of Homeland Security's top officials under President Trump is now turning against him

Miles Taylor, who worked as DHS chief of staff under Trump, announced in a Monday ad and a Washington Post op-ed that he would be supporting former Vice President Joe Biden this fall. While he once hoped Trump would "soberly accept the burdens of the presidency," Taylor said in the op-ed that "he did not rise to the challenge," and thus Taylor had no choice but to speak out against his re-election.

In the ad, Taylor said what he saw "after two and a half years in that administration was terrifying." He described how "we would go in and try to talk to [Trump] about pressing national security issues," but "he wasn't interested in those things." "The president wanted to exploit the Department of Homeland Security for his own political purposes and to fuel his own agenda," Taylor continued. For example, Trump tried to tell FEMA to stop sending aid to wildfire-stricken California because it didn't vote for him, and "wanted to restart zero tolerance" and "have a deliberate policy of ripping children away from their parents" at the border," Taylor said.

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Taylor goes on to make clear in the ad that he's not a Democrat, and disagrees with Biden on many fronts. But Trump is "actively doing damage to our security," while Biden "will protect the country," he said. Watch the ad below, and find Taylor's op-ed at The Washington Post. Kathryn Krawczyk