更多的共和党人，包括几位知名的前州长，周四站出来支持民主党候选人，乔·拜登。
他获得了全国近100名现任和前任共和党人以及独立选举官员的支持，他们宣布将共同努力支持他当选总统唐纳德·特朗普。
在周四上午的新闻发布会上，这个被认为是“拜登的共和党人和无党派人士”的新组织表示，它的“唯一使命”是击败特朗普，帮助拜登当选。
前副总统乔·拜登(左)在德尔威尔明顿接受2020年民主党总统候选人提名。，2020年8月20日。右图:2020年8月27日，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在华盛顿白宫南草坪接受共和党总统提名。
该联盟由前新泽西州州长克里斯汀·托德·惠特曼领导，她已成为总统最激烈的批评者之一，也是上月在民主党全国委员会发言的几位共和党人之一。
“18万多名美国人死于一场流行病，如果有一贯的领导，这场流行病本来是可以得到控制的。相反，它已经被一个无视它、拒绝领导并危及美国人生命的总统置于失控状态。”“在这一重大国家危机的时刻，我们需要选出一位与这一时刻相匹配的领导人，一位能够恢复总统办公室的能力并统一国家的领导人。”乔·拜登是领袖。”
2020年8月17日，前新泽西州州长克里斯汀·惠特曼在民主党全国代表大会的第一个晚上通过视频发表讲话。
该组织表示，它将针对关键战场州的共和党和右翼独立选民。
除了惠特曼之外，名单上最引人注目的人物，前密歇根州州长里克·斯奈德(已连任两届)和前马萨诸塞州州长比尔·韦尔德(在本次选举中向特朗普发起了一次不成功的初选挑战)，他们的支持也是竞选活动的一部分。
2020年2月11日，在新罕布什尔州曼彻斯特举行的总统初选中，共和党总统候选人、前马萨诸塞州州长比尔·韦尔德在韦伯斯特小学向选民挥手致意
斯奈德还写了一篇论坛版周四早上在《今日美国》上，特朗普被贴上了恶霸的标签。
“此外，特朗普总统对反对或不同意他们的人的回答是辱骂。换句话说，他是个恶霸。”“做一个恶霸和做一个强者不是一回事。坚强就是坚持你的信念。做一个恶霸是试图恐吓那些被认为是弱者或威胁的人。作为一个骄傲的书呆子，多年来我不得不与恶霸打交道;看着我们的世界遭受灾难，这是一种悲剧。”
共和党人和无党派人士支持拜登的发起正值近500名现任和前任共和党官员公开反对自共和党全国代表大会以来他们自己政党的总统连任。
该组织隶属于林肯项目，并将由该项目资助。
Nearly 100 GOP, Independent officials launch group backing Biden
More Republicans, including several high-profile former governors, came out Thursday in favor of the Democratic nominee,Joe Biden.
He picked up the endorsement of a slate of nearly 100 current and former Republicans and Independent elected officials from across the country who announced they are joining efforts to back him over PresidentDonald Trump.
In a press release Thursday morning, the newly-formed group deemed "Republicans and Independents for Biden" said its "sole mission" is to defeat Trump and help get Biden elected.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, left, accepts the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in Wilmington, Del., Aug. 20, 2020. At right, President Donald Trump speaks accepts the Republican presidential nomination from the South Lawn of the White House, Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington.
The coalition is led by former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, who has become one of the president's fiercest critics and was one of several Republicans to speak at the DNC last month.
"More than 180,000 Americans are dead from a pandemic that, with consistent leadership, could have been contained. Instead, it has been left to spin out of control by a President who ignored it, refused to lead, and endangered American lives," Whitman said in the release. "In this moment of great national crisis, we need to elect a leader matched to the moment, someone who can restore competence to the oval office and unify the country. Joe Biden is that leader."
Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Whitman speaks during the first night of the Democratic National Convention via video, Aug. 17, 2020.
The group says it will target Republican and right-leaning Independent voters in key battleground states.
Besides Whitman, the most high-profile names on the list, whose endorsements are part of the launch, are former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who served two terms, and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge to Trump this election cycle.
Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld waves to voters at the Webster Elementary School during the presidential primary on Feb. 11, 2020 in Manchester, N.H.
Snyder also penned anop-edin USA Today Thursday morning labeling Trump a bully.
"Furthermore, President Trump's answer to people who oppose or disagree with them is to be verbally abusive. In other words, he is a bully," Snyder wrote. "Being a bully and being strong are not the same thing. Being strong is standing up for your convictions. Being a bully is trying to intimidate those who are perceived to be weaker or a threat. As a proud nerd, I had to deal with bullies over many years; it is tragedy watching our world suffer from one."
The launch of Republicans and Independents for Biden comes as nearly 500 current and former GOP officials have gone public in opposing a second term for the president of their own party since the Republican National Convention.
The group is affiliated with and will be funded by The Lincoln Project.
