Ex-Trump DHS Official Condemns 'Dangerous' President In Scathing Op-Ed

A former Department of Homeland Security official questioned in a scathing op-ed how anyone could vote for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, citing the chaos that has characterized his administration and his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Elizabeth Neumann explained in a USA Today column published Tuesday why she is “convinced” the president is “failing at keeping Americans safe.” Neumann, until April, spent three years as a high-ranking member of the Trump administration’s national security team.

“He is dangerous for our country,” she wrote.

Neumann cited the president’s failure to address the surge in white nationalist violence, his constant lying and the turnover of key administration officials. Without elaborating, she also referred to what she said was a close call that could have led the U.S. into war.

She warned the country’s abandonment of allies and appeasement of dictators would “only get worse” in a second Trump term. Her column is headlined: “Trump made it hard for me to protect America. How could I vote for him again? How could anyone?”

Neumann, who endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden in a video released by the Republican Voters Against Trump group in August, had particularly harsh commentary on the pandemic.

Trump’s intentional public dismissal of the threat of COVID-19 — while acknowledging its “deadly” nature in private — was worse than a “dereliction of duty,” said Neumann.

“Your government is supposed to perform some basic functions; keeping you and your family safe is primary among them,” she wrote. “In 2016, I voted for President Trump. But when someone asked me if I could vote for him again, after he time and again refused to keep Americans safe — how could I say anything but no? How could anyone?”

Read Neumann’s full column here.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.