Miles Taylor, a former Homeland Security official who worked under the Trump administration, has come forward with his opinion that the Republican party is seemingly so far gone past the point of no return that there is no chance for it to be saved or redeemed. After serving under former U.S. President Donald Trump, Taylor became an avid critic of Trump, adamantly disagreeing with him on the ways the former president often went about things.
Taylor served as the Trump administration’s Deputy Chief of Staff as well as Chief of Staff later on, from 2017 to 2019.
On Tuesday, Taylor took to Twitter to post a farewell message to the Republican party, announcing that he would be leaving, encouraging others to follow suit, and citing the “vitriolic rhetoric” signal-boosted by members of the GOP as his reason for stepping away.
“I’m done,” he wrote. “I no longer believe the Republican Party can be saved. The vitriolic rhetoric is inspiring violent radicals. I’m quitting the GOP. And I hope more do the same.”
I'm done.
I no longer believe the Republican Party can be saved. The vitriolic rhetoric is inspiring violent radicals.
I'm quitting the GOP. And I hope more do the same.
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) May 17, 2022
Below his tweet that is now pinned to the top of his personal Twitter account, Taylor also posted a link to an editorial he authored for NBC News.
“I’ve been a political conservative for most of my life,” Taylor wrote, opening the editorial. “Having worked for two Republican presidents and for a GOP-controlled Congress. In the wake of the mass shooting in Buffalo on Saturday, it’s becoming glaringly obvious that my party no longer represents conservate values but in fact poses a threat to them — and to America.”
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) May 18, 2022
“That’s why I’m quitting the GOP,” he explained.
Taylor was referencing the tragic event that occurred recently in which a white supremacist open fired at a grocery store in Buffalo, killing 10 people. The shooter specifically targeted Black individuals and reportedly wrote a manifesto in which there were references to “great replacement theory,” ; a white nationalist conspiracy theory that claims white European populations are being culturally and demographically replaced by non-white populations.
I spent a decade working in counterterrorism. The rhetoric we are seeing from leaders of my party — the Republican Party — is *directly* fueling violence and a spike in domestic terrorism. This is not a partisan observation. This is a public safety warning.
— Miles Taylor (@MilesTaylorUSA) May 15, 2022
In the U.S. especially, it has been used as a way to discredit non-white political figures who have made strides in their careers by dwindling their successes down to the Democrats replacing white people in positions of political status with non-white people.
“An Associated Press poll in December found that nearly 50 percent of Republicans agree to some degree with the sentiments of the “great replacement theory” the Buffalo shooter allegedly used as justification for hunting and killing Black Americans, who comprised most of the victims of Saturday’s attack,” Taylor elaborated.
Miles Taylor — the “anonymous” former Trump administration official- has announced he's leaving the Republican party: "I no longer believe the Republican Party can be saved."
Do you agree with him, or do you think the GOP can be saved? @MilesTaylorUSA
— Republicans against Trumpism (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 18, 2022
“I believe that change from inside the party is a lost cause. Real reform — the kind that is needed to restore the soul of our political system — can only be achieved from the outside. Accordingly, conservatives of conscience must quit the GOP and oppose the Republican Party until it is rehabilitated or a suitable alternative is created,” he continued.
"I've had enough…I'm quitting the Republican party": Miles Taylor, fmr. security official under President Trump who wrote explosive, anonymous NY Times 2018 op-ed, announces he's quitting the Republican party over "replacement" theory rhetoric. https://t.co/DvaNtgxcZN pic.twitter.com/2K6zrUNidu
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 17, 2022
Taylor concluded his editorial by saying: “So today, in the tragic aftermath of Buffalo, I’m becoming something else — an independent — and my fellow conservatives should do the same.”
