What follows is the substance of an email letter that I sent to a bipartisan group of over 50 of my contacts on Monday, plus an important added endorsement of Harris at the end.  I crafted the communication to mainly focus on policies.   

In it I tried to explain why I believe that the 2024 election is the most important one since Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860 and express my opinion that it will determine if the United States will continue to be a democratic republic that is governed by the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law – or not. 

The following are the disturbing policies and plans being articulated by Mr. Trump and the GOP that I urged the recipients to consider before they vote this year.

One of my main fears is that Mr. Trump would withdraw from NATO during a second term and allow Russia’s President Putin to take control of Ukraine.  This would threaten the European Union, embolden China’s President Xi to annex Taiwan and dramatically weaken U.S. stature around the world. 

I also fear for U.S. national security.  During his first term, Mr. Trump was very cavalier with our nation’s secrets.  Then, upon leaving office, he carelessly took highly classified government documents to unsecured locations at his resort at Mar-A-Lago and he refused to return them when requested. 

My major concern, however, is for the U.S. rule of law.  Based on my legal experience and publicly available information, I am certain that an impartial jury would find Mr. Trump guilty of most of the remaining 50+ criminal charges against him.  The evidence is just that compelling.

Mr. Trump and many Republicans in Congress, however, are claiming his indictments were politically motivated. They are attacking judges that rule against him and lawyers prosecuting these cases, as if he is above the law.  And they are also calling for their Democratic opponents to be indicted and jailed. These actions seriously diminish the rule of law and weaken the foundations of our system of justice, which are critical to America’s stature as a nation and its economy.  And here is why.

Today, U.S. dollars and U.S. Treasury bonds are treated almost like gold around the world.  They comprise almost 60% of reserves held by foreign governments.  How did they achieve this lofty status?  Well, the U.S. has long been the world’s “safe harbor” for investment due to its rule of law and relatively fair and equitable legal system.  Without these two pillars of American justice the U.S. dollar would lose its stature, investors would demand much higher interest rates for U.S. Treasuries and the cost of financing our already too large national debt would soar. 

Most Republican politicians blame increased government spending for adding trillions to the deficits.  But tax cuts by Bush II and Mr. Trump have also added trillions to the national debt. And Mr. Trump’s plan to further cut taxes during a second term would force the government to borrow the funds to pay for it.  This is reckless and absolutely foolhardy.

Republican deficit hawks in Congress are eager to slash government spending.  But federal budget numbers show conclusively that the only way to achieve significant deficit reduction without increasing taxes – which they refuse to do – is to dramatically cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  This would devastate tens of millions of Americans and very few politicians will vote to do that.

Oh, but Mr. Trump claims he will solve many U.S. fiscal problems with high tariffs.  That is a patently ridiculous proposal, however, which would be a tax on consumers, significantly increase inflation and likely surge the deficits.

America’s population is aging and U.S. birthrates are declining.  But immigrants are adding to the birthrates and even undocumented residents are providing much needed labor to bolster our economy.  Yet, Mr. Trump has promised to deport millions of them and even decrease legal immigration.  The resulting labor shortages would also cause significant inflation, seriously damage the economy and increase deficits.  

No doubt, the recent higher inflation rates and so-called “woke” issues have concerned voters and many may not like VP Kamala Harris’ policies.  But she and the Democrats are solidly for maintaining our democracy and the rule of law, which Mr. Trump has consistently threatened.  That is why over 100 former GOP officials who served under Republican presidents since 1980 recently signed a letter endorsing Ms. Harris, stating that “any potential concerns” about her “pale in comparison to” those over Mr. Trump. 

If Mr. Trump is defeated in 2024, however, traditional, conservative Republicans will have a chance to regain control of the party and nominate their candidate in 2028.

So, I strongly recommend that you vote for Harris/Walz.  Because if Mr. Trump wins in November, I believe that his clearly stated agenda would seriously damage our national security, weaken our democratic institutions, and cripple the U.S. economy.   This would not only wreak havoc on our portfolios, it would also dramatically affect the security and the wellbeing of our children and grandchildren.  And I don’t believe any of us want to risk that.

Best regards,

When my email was sent on Monday, I was not aware that on Sunday, a bipartisan group of over 700 national security leaders – many top names in the field – had endorsed Harris in a letter “To the American People.”  The letter states that she “defends America’s democratic ideals,” while Trump “endangers” them.  You can read it here.