Fiorina says she plans to vote for Biden
Carly Fiorina, the former chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard who sought the Republican presidential nomination four years ago, said in a new podcast that she plans to vote for Democrat Joe Biden in the fall.
Fiorina said she continues to be a registered Republican but considers the election a "binary choice" and has made clear she cannot support President Trump.
"I am encouraged that Joe Biden is a person of humility and empathy and character," Fiorina said on an episode of "The Ticket" podcast released Wednesday. "I think he's demonstrated that through his life."
Fiorina was the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat from California in 2010 before seeking the GOP presidential nomination in 2016. She briefly became the vice presidential running mate of another Republican hopeful, Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), before he suspended his campaign.
Trump responded on Twitter to word that Fiorina is siding with Biden this year.
"Failed presidential candidate (thank you President Trump!), Carly Fiorina, said she will be voting for Corrupt Joe Biden," he wrote. "She lost so badly to me, twice in one campaign, that she should be voting for Joe. No complaints!!!"
Several other prominent Republicans, including former national security adviser John Bolton, have expressed misgivings about Trump but stopped short of saying they will support the former vice president.
Asked about that by the podcast's host, Edward-Isaac Dovere of the Atlantic, Fiorina stressed that she sees the race as a "binary choice."
"I'm not voting for Trump, but it's a binary choice. So if faced with a binary choice on a ballot: yes," she said, regarding voting for Biden.
"He will get a lot of pressure, as all politicians do, to be a politician," she said. "And yet I think what the nation is looking for is a leader. What's the difference? Well, politics is about win-lose. I'm right; you're wrong. It is, unfortunately, often about an argument between extremes. Leadership, on the other hand, is about problem-solving and making progress and changing the order of things for the better, which means it's about humility and empathy and collaboration."
Fiorina has said she voted for Trump four years ago, despite disparaging comments he made about her looks.
"Look at that face!" Trump said to Rolling Stone. "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?"