Arizona Republicans back Harris at Democratic convention
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Former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham yesterday. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Two Republicans with Arizona ties, including one who worked for the Trump administration, took to the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday to urge their fellow GOP voters to back Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
The big picture: Stephanie Grisham, who resigned from the Trump administration following the Jan. 6 attack, and Mesa Mayor John Giles received speaking slots at the convention in Chicago on Tuesday.
- Giles is part of the vice president's Republicans for Harris group and spoke at her rally in Glendale earlier this month.
Catch up quick: Prior to joining the Trump administration in 2017, Grisham was a familiar name in Arizona politics.
- She served as spokesperson for Attorney General Tom Horne and House Speaker David Gowan, both Republicans.
- Grisham worked on Trump's 2016 campaign and joined his administration as first lady Melania Trump's communications director before becoming the president's press secretary.
Yes, but: Grisham resigned in protest on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and disrupted certification of the president's defeat in the Electoral College.
What they said: Grisham described Trump as someone with no empathy, morals or fidelity to the truth.
- She noted she was criticized for never holding a White House press briefing but said the reason was that "unlike my boss" she didn't want to stand at the podium and lie.
- "Now, here I am behind a podium, advocating for a Democrat, because I love my country more than my party. Kamala Harris tells the truth. She respects the American people. And she has my vote," Grisham concluded.
Meanwhile, Giles told the crowd he felt a little out of place at the convention as a Republican, but he felt more at home there than in today's Republican Party, which he said has been "kidnapped by extremists and devolved into … the cult of Donald Trump."
- He said Mesa has been "on the move" thanks to Harris and President Biden. "I'm going to ribbon-cuttings every single week, all because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris reached across the aisle and they delivered for my conservative community."
- Giles' message to "the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle," was: "John McCain's Republican Party is gone and we don't owe a damn thing to what's been left behind."
Catch up quick: Several Arizonans spoke on Day One of the convention — Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, labor union members Dutch Martinez and Ryan Ahern and influencer Deja Foxx, who lives in Tucson.
What to watch: U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly will speak on the convention's final day.