Michael Hayden, Ex-CIA Director, Says Trump 'Doesn't Keep the Country Safe' in Ad

The former director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), General Michael Hayden, has made an impassioned plea to American voters to back Democratic contender Joe Biden in an ad in which he accused President Donald Trump of not keeping the U.S. safe.

In the anti-Trump ad, Hayden who was director of the NSA between from 1999 to 2005 and the CIA from 2006 to 2009, describes how he served 40 years in the military and that Trump was threatening to undo all the alliances that the U.S. had enjoyed until now.

At the start of the video which debuted on MSNBC, a caption explains that Hayden has aphasia following a stroke in 2018 and says that "though it's difficult, he feels it's important to speak out." Then he in a measured tone, he starts by saying: "If there's another term for President Trump, I don't know what happens to America."

"Truth is really important, but especially in intelligence. President Trump doesn't care about facts. President Trump doesn't care about the truth," he said.

"The FBI says white nationalism is a real problem, and the FBI wants to do something about it, but the president doesn't want to talk about that. He doesn't keep the country safe.

"Alliances are wonderful, alliances are win-win and now I don't know what's happening to our alliances, I mean it. If Trump gets another term, I think many alliances will be gone and America will be alone and that's a real, real problem."

He finishes by saying that he disagrees with some of Biden's policies "but that's not important," adding, "what's important is the United States, and I'm supporting Joe Biden. Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not." Newsweek has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.

The ad was produced by the group Republican Voters Against Trump which was founded by the conservative Bill Kristol and GOP strategist Mike Murphy. In August, Hayden joined dozens of former national security officials who served in Republican administrations in endorsing Biden.

The video of Hayden is the latest high-profile addition to the website of the coalition of Republicans and conservatives in which hundreds of former GOP backers describe how they will vote against Trump in November.

The website says its supporters are "united in wanting the country to move on from this deeply un-American presidency."

Another prominent anti-Trump group comprised of former Republicans, the Lincoln Project, released a more tongue-in-cheek video this week showing a montage of the president at the White House, to the tune of the song from the musical Evita, "Don't cry for me Argentina", but with the lyric changed to "Don't cry for me White House staffer."