Tom Moore is a self-described “Reagan Republican” who loves his country but is worried about the future of democracy.
After voting for Donald Trump in 2016, the soft-spoken probate court clerk from a small town near Grand Rapids no longer supports the former Republican president.
Now he’s speaking out in hopes of convincing other conservatives to abandon Trump.
Moore, 53, added his voice to Republican Voters Against Trump, a coalition dedicated to opposing Trump. The group is in the midst of a $50 million ad campaign featuring homemade testimonial videos of disaffected Trump voters.
Moore says Trump acts more like an aspiring dictator than a public servant.
“When he talks about retribution and going after his enemies, he’s coming across as a mafia boss,” Moore tells Metro Times. “This is the United States of America. I really love my country. I can’t have somebody using the power of the government to go after their enemies. That’s what Vladimir Putin does.”
Many political analysts believe Michigan is one of a handful of states that will determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. That’s why Republican Voters Against Trump is making Michigan “a top priority.”
“Michigan is a huge state for us — 100%,” Gunner Ramer, political director for the group, tells Metro Times.
Ramer estimates that 15% of Republicans “are up for grabs” and can still be persuaded to abandon Trump. Many of them have college degrees, earn higher incomes, and live in the suburbs.
While most Democratic groups focus on promoting President Joe Biden’s record in office, Republican Voters Against Trump criticizes the former president through the voices of his previous supporters. The group has collected more than 200 video testimonials and is urging others to add their voices.
“The message is important, but the messenger is even more important,” Ramer says. “That’s why we have the testimonials. These are people who used to be Republicans, and they say, ‘I didn’t leave the Republican Party. The party left me.’ They don’t recognize the party of today. They are the difference makers.”
In Moore’s nearly two-minute video, he talks about the importance of democracy and respecting the U.S. Constitution. He also points to Trump’s pro-Russia rhetoric and his failure to support Ukraine, a position that Moore believes will empower former Cold War foes.
“What he did was repugnant, it was disgusting, and I want a president who’s going to ensure that freedom thrives throughout the world,” Moore says in his homemade video.
Republican Voters Against Trump is funded by the Republican Accountability PAC. Some of its main contributors are billionaires such as Reid Hoffman, Seth Klarman, and John Pritzker.
“Our campaign is about maintaining and expanding on the anti-Trump campaign that propelled Biden to victory in 2020,” Ramer says. “There is a crucial segment that needs to be reminded why they and other like-minded people have rejected Trump in the past. This is the heart of the persuasive universe.”
Other conservatives who want to add their voices to the testimonials can do so at rvat.org/add-your-voice.
In 2016, Trump won Michigan by 0.3%, or fewer than 11,000 votes. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 154,00 votes.
This year, Biden is at risk of losing supporters over his handling of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. In Michigan’s Democratic primary election in February, a campaign to voice disapproval with Biden by voting “uncommitted” earned some 100,000 votes.
Recent polls show Trump has a narrow lead over Biden in Michigan.
