Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge endorses Joe Biden for president

Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania Republican governor and first secretary of Homeland Security, plans to vote for President Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, he announced Sunday.

Ridge, who served in former President George W. Bush’s administration, said it will be his first vote for a Democratic candidate for president of the United States, he wrote in an opinion piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“It’s time to put country over party. It’s time to dismiss Donald Trump,” Ridge posted on Twitter. Trump “lacks the empathy, integrity, intellect and maturity to lead,” Ridge added.

It’s time to put country over party. It’s time to dismiss Donald Trump.

Why I’m voting for @JoeBiden on November 3rd. https://t.co/rM9MnwjZhr

— Gov. Tom Ridge (@RidgeGlobal) September 27, 2020

Ridge also gave a harsh critique of Trump’s time in office, including his attempts to cast doubt on the election process.

“With just about one month until Election Day, President Trump continues to claim the only way he can possibly be defeated is a rigged election. Can you imagine the hubris? Can you imagine any other president in our lifetime — or ever — saying something so dangerous and un-American?,” Ridge wrote. “We are in the midst of a health crisis, when we should be doing all we can to help citizens vote safely, yet he continues to cast doubt on the sanctity of the vote. He’s done so multiple times here in Pennsylvania. It’s deplorable, yet utterly consistent with past reprehensible behavior.”