‘I’m with Joe’: California billionaire Meg Whitman among Republicans endorsing Biden at Democratic National Convention

California billionaire Meg Whitman, a Republican who spent $144 million of her own wealth on an unsuccessful run for governor a decade ago, endorsed Joe Biden for president at the Democratic National Convention on Monday.

“I’m a longtime Republican and a longtime CEO. And let me tell you, Donald Trump has no clue how to run a business, let alone an economy,” Whitman said. “Joe Biden, on the other hand, has a plan that will strengthen our economy for working people and small-business owners. For me, the choice is simple. I’m with Joe.”

Whitman was among four Republicans, including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who spoke at the nationally televised virtual convention. The move is not entirely surprising since in 2016, Whitman compared then-candidate Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, and endorsed and contributed to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

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Actress and activist Eva Longoria, left, introduces former First Lady Michelle Obama to address the convention.  (Getty Images)

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Joe Biden has a conference call with, from left, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot; NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson; Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr; Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo; and social justice advocate Jamira Burley during the convention.   (Getty Images)

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Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses the convention.  (Getty Images)

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An announcement for the Democratic National Convention is displayed on digital billboards in New York.  (Getty Images)

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Former First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the convention.  (Getty Images)

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota addresses the convention.  (Getty Images)

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Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, addresses the convention.  (Getty Images)

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Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama addresses the convention.  (Getty Images)

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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the convention.   (Getty Images)

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Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) speaks during the convention.  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Actress and activist Eva Longoria speaks with athlete Megan Rapinoe.  (Getty Images)

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The control room where live feeds from the convention are managed.  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Leon Bridges performs.  (Getty Images)

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Maggie Rogers performs.  (Getty Images)

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People from across the U.S. sing the national anthem during the first night of the Democratic National Convention.  (Associated Press)

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Police guard an access point to the Wisconsin Center.  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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A city worker outside the Wisconsin Center ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday, the opening day of the convention.  ( Kamil Kraczynski / AFP-Getty Images )

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A worker has his temperature taken before entering the security perimeter outside the Wisconsin Center, where the Democratic National Convention began Monday in Milwaukee.   (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Demonstrators from Democrats for Life America protest in Zeidler Union Square near the Wisconsin Center.  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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Journalists outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., on Monday. Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris will address the convention from the Chase Center on Thursday.  (Olivier Douliery / AFP-Getty Images )

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Supporters of the American Solidarity Party carry signs outside of the Wisconsin Center.  (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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American flags and a banner of the Democratic National Convention hang outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del., on Monday.   (Olivier Douliery / AFP-Getty Images)

At the time, the major GOP donor said she felt she had to put country before party because of how dangerous she felt Trump’s candidacy was for the nation.

“Donald Trump’s demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character,” she said in August 2016.

But the prospect of Whitman’s appearance at the DNC stunned some Democratic operatives who worked hard against her during the 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

“I would not in a million years have imagined seeing Meg Whitman at a Democratic convention, but I also never imagined I’d be buying extra stamps to try and save the postal service in the midst of a global pandemic,” said Sterling Clifford, who served as Jerry Brown’s campaign spokesman in the 2010 race against Whitman. “The world is full of surprises, I guess.”

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Whitman, 64, is a well-known face to California voters because of the record-setting gubernatorial campaign she ran in 2010, the last time Republicans were competitive in statewide contests here.

Worth $3.8 billion, she made much of her fortune as the head of EBay and used her vast personal resources to win the GOP primary over Steve Poizner, himself a wealthy man. Her campaign ultimately spent $178 million, with Whitman’s checkbook providing the bulk of the money.

That made her campaign the most expensive self-financed effort in the country until J.B. Pritzker’s 2018 gubernatorial win in Illinois and then Michael Bloomberg’s unsuccessful pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this year.

The money created a campaign that was more like a presidential operation, with lushly produced events, an unending barrage of TV advertisements, high-end swag, private jets and a massive roster of highly compensated political consultants.

But the neophyte candidate could not compete with Brown’s threadbare effort, in part because of self-imposed wounds: taking a hard right turn on immigration during the GOP primary, early and sustained negative advertising that battered her likability among voters, the lack of voting for much of her adult life, and, notably, the emergence of a housekeeper who was in the country illegally whom Whitman fired as she prepared to run for governor. Brown ultimately beat her by 13 points.

After the campaign, Whitman became chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, and then in 2018 became CEO of Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s video-streaming platform.

Whitman appeared at the DNC with a trio of other Republicans who endorsed Biden: Kasich, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and former New York Rep. Susan Molinari.

Rival party appearances at political conventions are not uncommon and tend to be popular with the audience, who view them as a public affirmation that their side is indeed the correct one.

Then-Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention, the year his close friend Sen. John McCain was the GOP nominee. Jim Brady, President Reagan’s press secretary who was partly paralyzed in the 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan, appeared at the 1996 DNC.