Former CIA director endorses Biden and says Trump ‘doesn’t keep the country safe’

Retired general and former federal official joins list of prominent Republicans endorsing the former vice president for the White House

A growing number of influential Republicans have spoken out against the president during the final months of the 2020 campaign (Getty Images)

A former federal official who served as the head of the CIA and NSA under multiple US presidents has endorsed Joe Biden for the White House while slamming Donald Trump in a video released Tuesday.

Former CIA and NSA director Gen Michael Hayden described the former vice president as a “good man” while lambasting the Republican incumbent as a leader who “doesn’t care about facts” in the video endorsement.

Mr Hayden joined forces for the video with Republican Voters Against Trump, a group of current and former GOP voters who have rallied behind the former vice president in his bid to unseat Mr Trump in the 2020 elections.

“If there is another term for President Trump, I don’t know what happens to America,” the retired general says in the video. “Truth is really important, but especially in intelligence. “President Trump doesn’t care about facts. President Trump doesn’t care about the truth. He doesn’t listen to his experts.”

Gen Hayden goes on to say the president “doesn’t keep the country safe” while citing numerous examples, including his apparent refusal to address the issue of white supremacy, which has been identified as a domestic threat by the FBI.

“He doesn’t keep the country safe,” he says. “It’s unbelievable.”

The video was retweeted from the group’s Twitter account nearly 35,0000 times by Wednesday, with more than 3.4 million views logged on the social media platform.

In a follow-up interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto, the retired general said another four years of a Trump presidency would be “very bad for America”.

"I've watched it very closely and now I'm afraid. I don't think the president does things well at all. I'm very sad about that. I think he can't do another term. It would be very, very bad for America”, he said on Wednesday.

Republican Voters Against Trump has also released a video endorsement for Mr Biden featuring Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security in the Trump administration, who spoke out about what he saw while working under the current president.

"Given what I have experienced in the administration, I have to support Joe Biden for president,” he said in the video. “And even though I am not a Democrat, even though I disagree on key issues, I'm confident that Joe Biden will protect the country and I'm confident that he won't make the same mistakes as this president.”

The group celebrated Gen Hayden’s decision to publicly endorse Mr Biden in a statement sent to The Independent, saying he “has given his life to protecting this country and everything it stands for”.

“That he would feel compelled to speak out now should be a signal to others who are waiting on the sidelines or are still in the Trump administration,” Sarah Longwell, strategic director of Republican Voters Against Trump, said, adding: “If General Hayden can do it, you can, too.”