Julie Kay Roberts -- Bush 43 Alum
Why she's supporting Harris-Walz in 2024
The country deserves a leader for all Americans and to turn the page on the chaos of the last ten years.
I am a lifelong Republican that is honored to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President in 2024. It is important for Conservative Republicans to speak up about why we made the decision to vote for the Harris-Walz ticket in November. I have a unique perspective that led me to endorse Vice President Harris in 2024.
As a young girl growing up in a small town in East Texas my sister and I were raised by our mom and grandparents. We were taught to respect our leaders, the rule of law, to be honest, and the old saying if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything. President Reagan’s leadership and compassion during difficult times like the Challenger space shuttle disaster inspired me to one day work for a Republican President.
I saw my dream come true in 2001 when I joined the George W. Bush’s Administration. President Bush set the tone of civility and compassion from the moment we all arrived. It was understood by all that served in the Administration that we represented the President and the American people in our actions and words. We should maintain the highest level of integrity, treat people with respect, show compassion for those in need, and make decisions in our positions that make the country a better place for everyone.
On September 11, 2001, the leadership and compassion President and Mrs. Bush demonstrated reminded me of the leadership I saw in President Reagan as a child. That day the partisan view fell to the way side. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents came together to sing the national anthem, pray with our family and friends, and look out for our neighbors. We saw the best of our country during that time.
Until now, my story will sound like many other alumni who are speaking out on why they will support Vice President Kamala Harris in November. In June 2016, after finding myself unexpectedly looking for a job, I got a call from a good friend on the 2016 Trump campaign.
In July 2016, I moved to New York City to work on the campaign first as the scheduler for then Governor Pence. The first time I met the Pence family, and his team was the night he accepted his nomination at the RNC in Cleveland. As we made our way to the motorcade, he stopped everyone outside the vehicles so that he and Mrs. Pence could pray over the team, the Agents, and to thank God for the opportunity they were given.
After moving to the VP Advance team in September, I had the opportunity to see the future Vice President show the compassion and integrity that I expect of a Republican leader. At the time I jointed the campaign I fully expected to move back to Florida in November 2016 after Secretary Clinton because President. We all know how the story turned out and I did not move back to Florida.
In August 2017, I joined the Trump Administration as the Director of Communications and later was named Deputy Chief of Staff for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Working in an Administration where science is questioned, many do not believe climate change is real, and a President that will say and do anything to distract from his real actions, proved to be more challenging then I could have understood when I accepted the role.
My decision to endorse Vice President Harris in 2024 is tied back to two key moments in the Trump Administration. In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian was devastating the Caribbean islands making its way toward the east coast of the United States. President Trump, acting off old information, stated that Alabama would be hit by the hurricane. Not only would the President refuse to correct the story, but he also went on to alter an official NOAA hurricane map, and at the end of the week directed his staff to have NOAA issue a statement leading to what is commonly known as “Sharpiegate.”
The President’s actions personally impacted me. I found myself in a media firestorm and on the receiving end of thousands of emails, voicemails, letters sent to my office, and attacks on my personal social media. I was called a traitor and other things that are not appropriate to include. All of this came from people hiding behind a keyboard. I spent the next six months forced to defend my actions in numerous federal investigations and in countering the false media. President Trump lied about Hurricane Dorian to distract from the fact that he directed staff to move money from the disaster funds to the southern border.
I decided now was the time to speak out on why President Trump cannot be elected again. Over the last month President Trump and his allies have spread lies about the federal assistance for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Whether it is lying about the current administration moving funds from the FEMA Disaster Fund to cover migrant expenses or telling hurricane survivors the government is not providing assistance, the lies have a direct impact on people who have been impacted.
The second reason Donald Trump can never be President again is because of his actions or inaction on January 6, 2021. As I watched the coverage on television that day, tears streamed down my face seeing the U.S. Capitol being destroyed and the officers protecting being physically attacked by a mob of people who falsely believed the election was stolen. President Trump was told by his senior campaign officials in November he lost the election, in fact he had been told the polling showed after the first debate that he lost supporters when he did not disclose, he was positive for COVID.
President Trump’s words at the Ellipse speech and tweets he sent out led the mob to start chanting “hang Mike Pence” putting his team’s life in danger. Days later when the video surfaced of the Vice President’s team and family being escorted from his office to the loading dock, I sat in tears again because I have a personal and professional relationship with them.
In January 2021, I thought the Republican party of Trump would finally see the last days and the Republican Party of Reagan, Bush, McCain, and Romney would reemerge to lead the way forward. I am sad to say that in the last four years, many Republican leaders have given excuses to Trump’s actions because they feel he can control their fate. Members of Congress whose lives were at risk on January 6, 2021, have forgotten the fear they felt and the resolve they showed to complete the certification that night.
I am encouraged to see the number of Reagan Conservatives willing to not only speak out on the former President but to take the important step to endorse Vice President Harris. It takes courage for all of us to speak out in this critical time in American history.
Julie Kay Roberts served in the George W. Bush Administration at FEMA, the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce, and the State Department.