US election: Lifelong Republican Richard Armitage pledges to vote for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump

Extract from ABC News

7.30

By Leigh Sales and Julia Holman

Updated 35 minutes ago

Video: Why lifelong Republican Richard Armitage is voting for Hillary Clinton. (ABC News)

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Republican stalwart Richard Armitage, who served under US presidents George W Bush and Ronald Reagan, has delivered a blistering critique of his party's presidential nominee.

Mr Armitage, who was US deputy secretary of state from 2001–2005, has pledged to vote for Hillary Clinton in next week's election, saying he cannot in good conscience support Donald Trump.
"I only have to please one person and that's the man in the mirror, and I couldn't stand myself if I didn't stand up to this guy [Trump]," he told 7.30.
"He embodies much of what I dislike - bullying, blustering, lying."
He gives Mr Trump only a slim chance of becoming president.
"I think probably about 15 per cent, it's possible," he said.

Australia and US shouldn't 'consider divorce'

Mr Armitage said international affairs would not be the focus under a Trump presidency and Australia should not expect the same kind of relationship it has enjoyed under recent US administrations.

"I think that Mr Trump has no strong views on foreign affairs, none of the people around him as far as I can ascertain have any known views," he said.

"I think he's going to try to spend the majority of his time on economic issues, and I think frankly [the US and Australia will] be in for a rough ride.
"It doesn't mean that we have to consider divorce or anything, but I think the first year will be really rough."
Despite the polls narrowing, Mrs Clinton remains the favourite to win the presidential race.
If she does, Mr Armitage said Australia can expect her to have a similar focus to her international priorities as she did when she was America's top diplomat.
"I think there's no question that it would continue along the lines that she put forward when she was secretary of state," he said.
"She's generally considered a little more hawkish than Mr Obama is. She would have at least one very powerful adviser in Kurt Campbell who's been very positive for Asian issues and Asian policy."

Clinton 'not getting good advice from her staff'

The main issue dogging Mrs Clinton is the misuse of her emails.
Mr Armitage said he thinks it was absurd that she worked from a private email server, and it is proof she is not getting good advice from her staff.
"They certainly should have told her that this was wrong and that she shouldn't have done it," he said.

"But as I say, they [her staff] appear to be a chorus of enablers, rather than the type of aide she needs which is one to say, 'Boss, you're doing something wrong, knock it off'."

Mr Armitage said regardless of who wins the election, the US will have to have a lot of soul searching to do to rebuild as a country.
He said that policy makers, which he refers to as "elites", need to pay more attention to lower and middle class America.
"I think we're going to have to spend a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how elites can start listening to our population and how our population can start coming together and working towards a new economy."