Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security Chief for George W. Bush, Backs Hillary Clinton
Image by Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Michael Chertoff, a homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush, endorsed Hillary Clinton for president.
The endorsement of the Democratic nominee, appearing in an interview Monday with Bloomberg News, is notable because while other Republicans, including many who have not been in government for decades, have endorsed Clinton, Chertoff was a senior Cabinet member in Bush’s second term and is known for his tough posture on terrorism.
Clinton “has good judgment and a strategic vision how to deal with the threats that face us,” Chertoff said.
Donald Trump, Chertoff said, has “misplaced” loyalties, accusing the Republican nominee of “making enemies of your friends and cozying up to your adversaries,” citing Trump’s proposal to distance the United States from NATO and his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Chertoff, the son of a rabbi, was a lead investigator in the Whitewater investigations of Hillary Clinton and her husband, President Bill Clinton, in the 1990s.
“People can go back decades and perhaps criticize some of the judgments that were made,” Chertoff said, referring to 1990s antagonisms between the Clintons and congressional Republicans. “That is very, very insignificant compared to the fundamental issue of how to protect the country.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
