Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign rally in Arizona on Friday featured one particularly notable speaker: John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, who gave a rousing speech denouncing his longtime party's direction under former President Donald Trump.
At Harris' rally in Glendale, Giles urged moderates to follow his lead — and back the Democratic ticket.
"I do not recognize my party," said Giles. "I have something to say to those of us who are in the middle: You don’t owe a damn thing to that party. You don’t owe anything to a party that is out of touch and hell-bent on taking us backward. And by all means, you owe no loyalty to a candidate who is morally and ethically bankrupt."
"In the spirit of the great Senator John McCain, please, please, please join me in putting country over party and stopping Donald Trump," he said, as the crowd cheered.
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This comes after Giles, who co-chairs the group Arizona Republicans for Harris, laid out his case in previous weeks for why he is endorsing Harris over Trump, including the former president's attacks on urban areas.
"During the Trump administration, cities were largely ignored, during the Biden administration, we have enjoyed a good relationship and we have seen record investment in our communities and we are seeing economic prosperity as a result of that," he said on a recent MSNBC appearance. "I am a Republican, but I'm elected to be a nonpartisan mayor. My city council is made up of Democrats and Independents and Republicans and we all get along very well and we do a great job when we focus on the problems that are in front of us, rather than getting into the weeds and trying to be partisan."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
