Republican Mayor Addresses The DNC, Tells Independent Voters They Don’t ‘Owe a Damn Thing’ to Trump’s GOP
John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, addressed the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night and illustrated the ongoing divide in Arizona between Republicans who revere the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and those loyal to Donald Trump.
“Good evening. I have a confession to make. I’m a lifelong Republican. So I feel a little out of place tonight, but I feel more at home here than in today’s Republican Party,” began Giles, adding:
The Grand Old Party has been kidnapped by extremists and devolved into a cult. The cult of Donald Trump. Trump doesn’t know the first thing about public service. Like a child, he acts purely out of self-interest. We all need an adult in the White House, and we’ve seen what happens when we don’t have one. Trump made a lot of lofty promises: unlimited economic growth, American manufacturing reborn, a secure border.
Turns out Donald Trump was all talk. He wanted our votes, but he couldn’t deliver a thing. But these days, my city of Mesa, Arizona, is on the move. I’m going to ribbon cuttings every single week, all because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris reached across the aisle, and they delivered for my conservative community. And countless more across the country.
Giles concluded, “My hero, John McCain has taught us to put country over party. And that’s how Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will lead too. 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 know a damn thing to what’s been left behind.”
“So let’s turn the page. Let’s put country first. Let’s put adults in the room, what our country deserves. Thank you,” he said to a hardy applause.
Giles, who runs Arizona’s third-largest city, has joined the “Republicans for Harris” campaign initiative and is also a prominent critic of former news anchor, turned MAGA acolyte Kari Lake – who is running for the U.S. Senate this year.
Watch the clip above.
