'Frustrated' ex-Trump aide says she won't vote for former president
Sarah Matthews, an ex-staffer of former President Trump, said Monday she would not cast her vote in November for Trump, signaling she could instead vote for President Biden.
“When we have a candidate on the ballot who will not uphold the Constitution, then I feel like I have to put policy aside" Matthews said on MSNBC's "Inside with Jen Psaki. "And I wanna support the person who is best suited to defeat Donald Trump."
Her remarks stand in contrast with other former advisers to Trump. Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who became a frequent critic of the former president after leaving office, said earlier this month that he will vote for the “Republican ticket” in November.
“I think it’s my duty to pick the person I think would do the least harm to the country,” Barr said on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom.” “And in my mind, that’s — I will vote the Republican ticket.”
Matthews said she has talked with a lot of Republicans, including high-up elected officials, who "bash" Trump privately. But, she added, "many of them will not even say it publicly.”
“And a lot of times, what they often say, is that they're supporting him because of the policies, that they want the conservative agenda, and where I get really frustrated, is that they're treating this like it's a normal election, a normal Republican candidate and a normal Democratic candidate,” Matthews continued. “Well, this couldn't be anything further from the case.”
In the wake of his decision to support the GOP ticket, no matter the candidate, Trump mocked Barr on social media.
“Wow! Former A.G. Bill Barr, who let a lot of great people down by not investigating Voter Fraud in our Country, has just Endorsed me for President despite the fact that I called him ‘Weak, Slow Moving, Lethargic, Gutless, and Lazy’ (New York Post!),” Trump posted on Truth Social last week. “Based on the fact that I greatly appreciate his wholehearted Endorsement, I am removing the word ‘Lethargic’ from my statement. Thank you Bill.”
Another Republican leader who has bumped heads with the former president also put his support behind Trump last month. Senate Minority Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) endorsed Trump after his last remaining rival, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, suspended her campaign.
“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States," the senator said at the time. "It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support."