Stephen Lam/Reuters
Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman said Tuesday that she would “put country first before party” and vowed to contribute a “substantial” sum to Hillary Clinton’s campaign in order to keep Donald Trump from winning the presidential race. Whitman, a Republican fundraiser and former candidate for governor of California, said in an interview with The New York Times, “I will vote for Hillary, I will talk to my Republican friends about helping her, and I will donate to her campaign and try to raise money for her” Conceding that she didn’t agree with Clinton on everything, she made it clear that she agreed with Trump on even fewer issues—and that if he were to win, it could mean the end of American democracy. Calling the Republican nominee a “dishonest demagogue,” she warned that he could lead the country “on a very dangerous journey,” noting that it would be naive to think a tyranny “can’t happen here.” “Time and again history has shown that when demagogues have gotten power or come close to getting power, it usually does not end well,” Whitman said. The move is considered a huge win for Clinton, as Whitman is not only an influential Republican and billionaire, but also a female executive with substantial ties to the nation’s business elite.