Mesa Mayor John Giles, who is now the co-chair of the Republicans for Harris group, was once censured by his local Republican Party over another endorsement of a Democrat, and previously called former President Donald Trump an “idiot” on a hot microphone.
In a Sunday statement, the Harris campaign described Republicans for Harris as “a grassroots organizing program” created to reach members of the Republican Party who do not support Trump.
The statement by the Harris campaign listed Giles (pictured above, left) as a Republican who endorsed the Democrat over Trump, and the Associated Press reported that Giles will serve on Republicans for Harris as a co-chair of the Arizona chapter’s advisory committee to the campaign.
This is not the first time Giles endorsed a Democrat for a statewide elected office in Arizona, as he was among the Republicans who endorsed U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) over Blake Masters in 2022. Kelly is now reportedly under consideration by Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential vice presidential running mate.
Giles was censured by the LD 10 Republican Committee in Mesa for endorsing an unnamed Democrat after he endorsed Kelly.
The mayor was previously caught on a hot microphone in 2017, when he called Trump an “idiot” while in conversation with former Senator Jeff Flake.
A recording revealed Giles warned Flake that the Republican Party would be “toast” if it became identified with Trump, and urged Flake to “just to be the foil, you know, and to point out what an idiot this guy is.”
Flake later became a top Republican critic of Trump before declining to seek reelection. The former senator was appointed as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey by President Joe Biden in 2021.
In a statement reported by the Associated Press, Giles suggested Trump is a threat to democracy.
“As a lifelong Arizonan and longtime Republican, I strongly believe in defending democracy and standing up for our personal freedoms,” said Giles in an apparent reference to abortion.
He claimed Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), are “the greatest threat to American values and institutions” he’s witnessed, and stated his decision to join the Harris campaign through the Republicans for Harris organization expresses his commitment to seeing the former president defeated.
Giles previously invoked former Senator John McCain when he endorsed Harris on July 30, declaring his decision represents McCain’s “Country First” mantra.
The mayor cited the infrastructure funding provided to Mesa under the Biden administration, and claimed Harris will be “the competent, just and fair leader our country deserves.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mayor John Giles” by Mayor John Giles and “Kamala Harris” by Gage Skidmore CC2.0.
