Over 50 former GOP security officials back Biden

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More than 50 Republican former national security officials endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday.

The group is just one of several Republican organizations opposing the re-election of President Donald Trump and includes seven national security officials who served under the president.

Other senior officials who worked in the Republican administrations of Ronald Reagan and both Bushes have also joined.

Collectively, the groups, which also include Republican Voters Against Trump and 43 Alumni for Biden, consist of hundreds of former officials who object to Trump's alienation of U.S. allies and his leadership at home, including his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his reaction to nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality.

Elizabeth Neumann, Trump's former assistant secretary for threat prevention at DHS, joined the Republican Voters Against Trump in August and said in a recent ad that as the virus spread in early 2020, a number of public servants attempted to do their jobs and the president, she said, told them to quote "stop because he didn’t want the economy to tank and he didn’t want a distraction from his campaign."

[Elizabeth Neumann in Republican Voters Against Trump ad] "I’m sorry Mr. President you were hired to handle America’s worst day and you absolutely failed."

And after Tuesday’s presidential debate, Neumann said Trump's failure to unequivocally denounce white supremacists reinforced the belief of members that he must be defeated in November.

Trump on Thursday hit back, posting a statement on Twitter with the names of former national security officials who served in Republican administrations and say they support the president's reelection.

The Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden group will start running full-page newspaper ads on Thursday in seven competitive states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida, and run a TV ad during "Fox & Friends," which Trump is known to watch.