(NewsNation) — John Giles, a Republican mayor from Mesa, Arizona, urged other Americans who find themselves in the political middle to “put country first,” claiming that the GOP party has been “kidnaped by the cult of Donald Trump.”
“My hero [Sen.] John McCain taught us — taught us to put country over party, and that’s how Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz will lead, too,” Giles said during his speech at the Democratic National Convention.
“I have an urgent message for the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle: John McCain’s Republican Party is gone, and we don’t owe a damn thing to what’s been left behind,” he said. “So let’s turn the page. Let’s put country first. Let’s put adults in the room, where our country deserves.”
Giles is among a handful of Republicans who have voiced support for Harris.
Republicans speaking at the DNC
Another Trump critic, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., is also expected to speak at the DNC.
Other GOP speakers are Olivia Troye, a former homeland security aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. Both Troye and Duncan have become regular critics of Trump.
“With my home state of Georgia up for grabs, I’m honored to be speaking at the Democratic National Convention and speak directly to my fellow Republicans and voters in the middle who want to move past the Trump nightmare,” Duncan said in a statement.
In addition to those more high-profile names, the Harris campaign said there would be multiple other Republican voices featured, including a video from former conservative activist Rich Logis and remarks from Kyle Sweetser, an Alabama Republican.
Democrats at the RNC
Republicans had a handful of former Democrats speak at their convention in Milwaukee, as well.
Four such individuals were among the “everyday Americans” who spoke at the Republican National Convention last month about why they were no longer voting Democrat and instead backing Trump in November.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, from New Jersey, who changed parties in 2019, also spoke at the GOP convention.
Brett Samuels and The Hill contributed to this report.
