He was once the campaign manager for Senator John McCain’s 2008 bid for the White House. Now, he’s left the party.
GOP strategist Steve Schmidt renounced his membership in the Republican party early Wednesday morning, saying he will now align with Democrats. Schmidt took to Twitter in a long series of tweets to make his announcement.
29 years and nine months ago I registered to vote and became a member of The Republican Party which was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery and stand for the dignity of human life. Today I renounce my membership in the Republican Party. It is fully the party of Trump.
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) 20 June 2018
While the longtime Republican has not been shy about criticizing the Trump administration, the move comes as a surprise from someone who managed the campaign of a GOP presidential nominee 10 years ago.
Schmidt said his decision was a direct result of the administration’s policy of separating children from parents who illegally cross the border. In recent weeks, Republican politicians across the country have slammed Trump and the Justice Department’s “zero-tolerance” policy, evan as the president continues to claim, incorrectly, that it’s the result of laws passed by Democrats.”
The 29-year-veteran of the Republican party and current MSNBC analyst said the policy is “immoral and must be repudiated.”
