1 week Ago
Voters have countless reasons to reject Donald Trump on policy and principle alone, such as his vow to repeal Obamacare and order mass deportations, his fondness for dictators and tax cuts for billionaires, his 34 felony convictions, his promise to deploy military force against protesters, his climate nihilism, his appalling pandemic management, his role in abolishing reproductive rights, and his attempt to overthrow the government by violence – to name a few. But the most powerful indictment comes from those who have worked with him closely, shell-shocked Republicans who joined his administration and came away horrified after spending years inside the chemical spill of his wretched presidency. They are uniquely qualified to foretell the nightmare scenario that may lie ahead -- dozens of them from the highest echelons of the Trump Administration -- and they have one warning: The country cannot make another catastrophic mistake by electing Donald Trump in 15 days.
We endorse Kamala Harris in the Nov. 5 election, not only because she has the intellect, judgment, temperament, and policy priorities for the presidency, but because we have been warned of the imminent danger Trump poses to our nation. Perhaps you only remember snippets.
His former chief of staff says Trump has “nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions and our constitution.” His former Defense Secretary calls him “a threat to democracy as we know it.” His former Attorney General says he “shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office.
” His former chairman of the Joint Chiefs calls Trump “fascist to the core.” They speak with the zeal of panicked prophets and carry the same message: The United States and its people are better than what Trump represents, and we must reject his menacing plot to turn the world’s longest-running democracy into his vanity autocracy. Relatively speaking, there aren’t many of them – most Republicans in government chose to join the cabal of Trump normalizers – but the fact that these two dozen former allies and aides abandoned partisan politics to reach this principled conclusion is historic.
As University of Chicago political scientist William Howell put it: “Here you have a chorus of voices, all of whom are singing from the same hymnal, which is about Trump being ill-suited to serve as president and representing a distinct threat to democracy,” he told USA Today. “I can’t think of a corollary, certainly in modern American history.” As he took office in 2017, Trump said he would surround himself with the “best people” to help him run the country.
But now the same people warn that history is merely backstory. To wit: ♦ Former chief of staff John Kelly has described Trump as a person who “has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. .
. . A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators.
A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.” Kelly only had three words when he was asked by CNN to contemplate another Trump presidency: “God help us,” he said. ♦ Trump’s first Defense Secretary, James Mattis , said he was “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try.
” Mattis viewed the Jan. 6 riot as an effort to “subjugate American democracy by mob rule,” and said Trump’s use of the presidency to “destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice.” ♦ The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen.
Mark Milley, famously referred to Trump as a “wannabe dictator” at a retirement ceremony in October. He told Bob Woodward that Trump is “a fascist to the core,” and “the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist.
He is the most dangerous person to this country.” ♦ Trump’s second Defense Secretary, Mark Esper , told CNN in July that Trump is “not fit for office because he puts himself first, and I think anybody running for office should put the country first. Any elected official needs to meet some basic criteria: They need to be able to put country over self.
They need to have a certain level of integrity and principle. They need to be able to bring people together and unite the country. Donald Trump doesn’t meet those marks for me.
” Esper also wrote in his 2022 memoir that during the George Floyd protests, Trump “looked frankly at Gen. Milley and said, ‘Can’t you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?’” ♦ Former Attorney General William Barr called Trump “a consummate narcissist. .
. .(who) will always put his own interest and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest.
There’s no question about it. ..
. He’s like a defiant 9-year-old kid, who’s always pushing the glass toward the edge of the table defying his parents to stop him from doing it.” ♦ Trump’s first Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson – who has referred to Trump as a “moron” – said his understanding of global history is “really limited.
It’s really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even understand the concept for why we’re talking about this.” ♦ John Bolton , Trump’s former National Security Advisor, said there will be “celebrations in the Kremlin” if Trump is re-elected, because “Putin thinks he is an easy mark” while other foreign leaders regard Trump as “a laughing fool.” Bolton also believes that Trump “wants Americans to treat him like North Koreans treat Kim Jung Un.
” ♦ And then there was of Ty Cobb , the White House counsel who defended Trump during the Russian interference probe, warning that another round of MAGA would effectively destroy the nation’s future. “He has never cared about America, its citizens, its future or anything but himself. In fact, as history well shows from his divisive lies, as well as from his unrestrained contempt for the rule of law and his related crimes, his conduct and mere existence have hastened the demise of democracy and of the nation,” Cobb told the Washington Post.
“Our adversaries and our allies both recognize that even his potential re-election diminishes America on the world stage and ensures continued acceleration of the domestic decline we are currently enduring. If that re-election actually happens, the consequences will extinguish what, if anything, remains of the American Dream.” The list goes on.
Only half of Trump’s 42 former Cabinet secretaries have endorsed him. T hat, too, is unprecedented. * * * * By contrast, Vice President Harris has galvanized the Democratic party like few have before, and will build on the successes of one of the most impactful administrations in recent history.
Whereas Trump villainizes immigrants in overtly racist terms, Harris supports reforms that include boosting border enforcement while expanding opportunities for legal entry. Whereas Trump boasts of appointing judges who struck down the 50-year-old right to abortion, Harris is a leader for reproductive rights and frames it as a fight for body sovereignty and the right to health care. Whereas Trump considers climate change a hoax and vows to dismantle all efforts to control it, Harris spent much of her career prosecuting high-profile cases against polluters and casting the deciding vote in the Inflation Reduction Act, which poured billions into clean energy projects.
Whereas Trump wants to pull the plug on NATO and impress enemy dictators, Harris actually reads her national security briefings and has vowed to never abandon Ukraine, which Trump is willing to feed to Vladimir Putin. And whereas Trump is prepared to destroy the American economy with tariffs and more tax breaks to the rich, Harris will focus on the middle class and working class by offering housing assistance and by boosting the care economy by enhancing child tax credits and paid family leave. Fifteen days from Election Day, the cliché still holds.
This is the most important ballot Americans will ever cast. It should also be the easiest decision they’ll ever have to make. They only have to follow the advice of those who know Trump best.
To comment on this Star-Ledger editorial, send a letter to [email protected] . RECOMMENDED • nj .
com Will Trump bust records among these two voting blocs? Polls show he might. Oct. 14, 2024, 8:32 a.
m. Friendly Fire: Trump rallies troops, transgender politics, and Bret gets stripped Baier. Oct.
19, 2024, 7:00 a.m. Our journalism needs your support.
Please subscribe today to NJ.com . Bookmark NJ.
com/Opinion . Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook .
.
