Democrats hope anti-Trump Republicans will be their secret weapon

Four hours before reporters at the Democratic Party convention in Chicago last week learned that Beyoncé would not be taking the stage alongside Kamala Harris, a new rumor circulated inside the United Center where delegates and reporters were gathered.

Could it be that former President George W. Bush will break with the Republican Party and fill the much-vaunted role of “mystery guest” we've been waiting for on convention night?

In Texas, Bush’s team immediately stepped up to quash the rumor. Meanwhile, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney also denied that he planned to run before Democrats in Chicago. “Contrary to what is being called fake news, I am not the surprise guest at the DNC tonight,” he wrote on social media. (There was, of course, no mystery guest, but Democratic dignitaries did nothing to dispel a rumor that could have boosted the audience numbers for Harris’ big speech.)

The extraordinary number of Republicans already in Chicago to support the vice president has fueled the idea that Bush or Romney might follow his example.

Stephanie Grisham, who willingly served as Donald Trump’s White House press secretary for 10 months in 2019 and 2020, is a widely discredited figure in Washington for her slavish lying on behalf of the former president. But after falling out with Trump and former first lady Melania Trump, whom she later served, Grisham completed her turnaround by appearing at the DNC on Tuesday.

“He has no empathy, no morals and no loyalty to the truth,” she said of Trump, telling delegates that she had even heard the former president refer to his supporters as “basement dwellers.”

In the following evenings, Grisham was followed on the podium by more credible figures who followed her lead in endorsing Harris in an effort to derail Trump’s hopes of returning to the White House. Geoff Duncan, the former Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia — a crucial battleground state in November — described the Republican Party as “a cult worshiping a criminal thug.”

Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois went further, casting himself as a man who might eventually switch parties to try to return to electoral politics. Forced out of office by Trump for his role in supporting congressional investigations into the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, Kinzinger told the convention that Trump has “choked the soul of the Republican Party” and “spread through my party like a disease.”

As Bush and Romney demonstrated, some key Republican leaders have so far remained silent. Democrats are now hoping that in the 70 days before Election Day, some of the big stars in the Republican firmament will still find the courage to switch sides, helping Harris persuade swing voters that the future of the country is in her hands.

In the key swing states, every vote will count, and if dissident Republicans can help Harris siphon a few thousand votes away from Trump here and there, they could be a deciding factor in the outcome of the election.

Last month, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told the hosts of ABC's The view (The American equivalent of ITV Women in freedom) said that “at this point, I will not vote for either candidate” in the election. But that was before President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid. Christie, a former Trump ally who has become one of his fiercest Republican critics, could still face pressure to support Harris from other anti-Trumpers concerned about the future of the country’s democracy.

Romney, who is not seeking reelection and will leave the Senate in January, is another figure whose endorsement Harris’ team is reportedly seeking. Former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who joined Democrats to co-chair the Jan. 6 inquiry, is also reportedly considering a Harris endorsement, as is former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona.

Bush is expected to remain silent, however, sticking to his long-held position that the United States has only one president at a time and that former occupants of the Oval Office should keep their opinions private.

As for Beyoncé's coveted endorsement, there are still plenty of Harris rallies left where she could still wow Democrats by joining the vice president on stage.