Meet Will Hurd: The Ex-CIA, Anti-Trump Republican Who Wants To Be President

Aug 15, 2023

Will Hurd, a former Texas congressman and CIA operative, dives into his journey from undercover missions to presidential candidacy. He shares how a traumatic experience in Afghanistan ignited his political ambitions. Hurd discusses the challenges of being a moderate Republican, aiming to unite disillusioned voters and emphasize bipartisanship. He critiques the GOP's current direction and stresses the need for inclusivity to reflect America's diversity. Additionally, he tackles pressing issues like immigration and the importance of civic engagement in a fragile democracy.

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ANECDOTE

Rugs Over Briefing

In 2008, Will Hurd, then a CIA operative in Kabul, overheard Congressmen prioritizing rug shopping over a briefing.
This incident, coupled with their ignorance about Sunni-Shia differences, fueled Hurd's decision to enter politics.

ANECDOTE

9/11 and the CIA

Will Hurd joined the CIA at 22, serving in various locations including India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
On 9/11, he was among the first to join the unit prosecuting the war in Afghanistan.

INSIGHT

Winning Against the Odds

Despite facing a well-funded Tea Party-backed opponent and a lack of support from establishment Republicans, Hurd won his congressional seat.
His success stemmed from engaging directly with voters, addressing their concerns, and emphasizing common ground.

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If you’ve been listening to this show for the past few months, maybe even since the 2022 midterms, you probably think I sound like something of a broken record when it comes to my advice for politicians today. Again and again, I’ve said the following: elections right now are Republicans’ to lose. Biden’s approval numbers are low—41.2 percent-—which is lower than every president at this stage of their term in the last 75 years, other than Jimmy Carter.

It seems to me that all Republicans need to do is stand still and be normal, and they’d win. (Instead, the GOP often seems more focused on Bud Light and books about gay penguins with two moms.)

So when former Texas congressman Will Hurd announced he was running for president last month, I thought, at long last, a normal Republican candidate. And not just that—one with an impeccable pedigree and reputation. A Republican who has never bent the knee to Trump. A Republican who is sensible, sober, and highly respected for his bipartisanship. The kind of textbook candidate that will set your heart aflutter if you count yourself among the legions of the sane and moderate.

So. . . why is Hurd polling in last place? Has my advice over the last few months been misguided? Is the Republican Party just too far gone, too changed at this point for someone as normal as Will Hurd? On today’s episode, I ask him.

Hurd spent nearly a decade as an undercover operative for the CIA in places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, during the height of the war on terror. In 2010, he left the agency to start his political career and in 2014, he was elected to Congress, becoming the only black Republican on the House floor. For three consecutive terms, Hurd represented one of Texas’s most sprawling districts, a district that is two-thirds Latino and covers much of the border with Mexico, from San Antonio to El Paso.

In a profile of Hurd in The Atlantic last year, appropriately titled “Revenge of the Normal Republicans,” the reporter Tim Alberta wrote this: Will Hurd knows that “a leader can’t emerge without a movement, and a movement manifests only with the inspiration of a leader. He also knows that some people view him as uniquely qualified to meet this moment: a young, robust, eloquent man of mixed race and complete devotion to country, someone whose life is a testament to nuance and empathy and reconciliation. What Hurd doesn’t know is whether America is ready to buy what he’s selling.”

So which is it: Are Americans ready to buy what Hurd is selling? Or has that ship simply sailed?

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