Sterling Heights GOP Mayor Who Backed Trump In 2016 Endorses Biden
STERLING HEIGHTS (CNN) -- The Republican mayor of Sterling Heights, Michigan, a key battleground state, is voting for Joe Biden in Michigan's Democratic primary on Tuesday after supporting President Donald Trump in 2016, telling CNN that his decision is about wanting "basic human decency" in a president.
"How could I look at (my) three kids and tell them I'm proud to support Donald Trump? I can't. I won't. I'm voting for @JoeBiden tomorrow and endorsing him for President of the United States," Mayor Michael C. Taylor posted on Twitter Monday.
Voters in Michigan and five other states head to the polls Tuesday to vote in the primaries. Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are vying for the Democratic nomination to take on Trump in the general election in November and Michigan will be a crucial battleground state.
Taylor told CNN via email that he thinks Trump is "bad for the Republican party and more importantly bad for the country. It goes beyond differences with policy -- it's about basic human decency. President Trump is not a decent person and Joe Biden is."
His main concern: Getting rid of Trump.
"I want to restore respect and honor to the White House and I don't care if it's someone who I am politically aligned with or not. As Americans, we have to put the health of our country before our politics. I think that Vice President Biden gives us the best chance of defeating Donald Trump and I'm proud to support him even though I don't agree with all of his policies," he added.
Taylor made his intent to vote for Biden first known to the Chicago Tribune.
"I think Joe Biden is the candidate who can unify all of the Democrats, and he's the candidate who can appeal to moderates and Republicans like me who don't want to see four more years of President Trump," Taylor told the Tribune in an interview that published Monday.
Tuesday is the first time Taylor, a lifelong Republican, will be voting for a Democrat, according to the Tribune. Michigan has an open primary system, meaning registered voters may participate in either primary.
Sterling Heights, the fourth most populous city in the state, is situated in Macomb County -- one of the Detroit-area counties that remains a state battleground. In 2016, Macomb County voted for Trump after supporting Barack Obama in the two previous elections. Trump ended up winning Michigan, making him the first Republican to do so since 1988. His win in Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, delivered him the presidency.
Taylor told CNN that "part of my justification for voting" for Trump in 2016 was that "I thought he was putting on a show during the campaign but once elected he would take a more serious tone and rise to the occasion."
"I was wrong and it was apparent from the very first day when (former press secretary) Sean Spicer gave a press briefing about how large his crowd size was," Taylor wrote, adding, "At that moment I realized (Trump) would never change his ways. Since then it has been an onslaught of indecency, corruption, and incompetence."
The mayor told the Tribune that some of his constituents can be won over by Biden because of Trump's divisiveness and if Biden successfully talks about what he'll do to help blue collar voters, the Tribune reported.
"(Biden) says he's fighting for the soul of our country, well he's gotta act like it and come here and tell people, 'I can help you,'" Taylor said. "'These Trump economic policies, I got better ones, we're going to make your wages, your life better here.'"
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