Listen to ex-allies
Thosewho onceworked under Trump have the inside track on his many flaws.
Many supporters of President Donald Trump complain he is unfairly demonized by radical liberal Democrats, RINO Never-Trumpers, a biased media and others suffering from what they call Deranged Trump Syndrome.
These forces, his allies say, have distorted the president’s record, obscured his achievements and distracted countless voters from seeing Trump’s unique genius.
To believe that, however, requires ignoring pointed criticismfroma very different group of interested observers, those who chose to serve in the Trump administration, including longtime conservatives and loyal Republicans who changed their views only after experiencing the president’s conduct in office firsthand.
The increasingly few Americans who have yet tomake up their mind and plan to vote Tuesday should keep these thoughtful testimonials in mind as they cast their ballots.
The list of those who lost faith in Trump after working closely with him include members of his Cabinet, who were hand-chosen by Trump to carry out his policies. Their critiques carry special weight because Trump has since stacked his administration with sycophants and co-opted the Republican Party into a cult of personality.
Some of the harshest assessments came from retired Marine Corps Gen. JimMattis, aman Trump once praised as “one of our great-great generals” and the person he selected tomuch fanfare and broad support as his first defense secretary.
“Donald Trump is the first president inmy lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try,” Mattis said after resigning in early 2019. “Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”
Mattis, who commanded the 1st Marine Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq under President GeorgeW. Bush and was commander of United States Central Command under President Obama, went on to describe Trump as “dangerous” and “unfit.”
In a similar vein, John Bolton, Trump’s third national security adviser, called Trump “a danger for the Republic.”
Trump’s first secretary of state, Texan Rex Tillerson, said the president is “undisciplined, doesn’t like to read ... doesn’t like to get into the details of a lot of things.” Those are fundamental and frightening flaws for a commander in chief dealing with life-and-death, warand-peace international issues.
Speaking at a fundraiser for the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston last December, Tillerson also described Trump’s utter lack of concern for the rule of law.
“So often, the president would say here’s what I want to do and here’s how I want to do it,” Tillerson said, “and I would have to say to him, Mr. President, I understand what you want to do, but you can’t do it that way. It violates the law.”
In MichaelWolff’s book “Fire and Fury,” Trump’s first top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, said he was appalled by Trump’s work habits and attention to details.
“It’s worse than you can imagine,” Cohn wrote in an email. “An idiot surrounded by clowns. Trump won’t read anything — not one-pagememos, not the brief policy papers; nothing. He gets up halfway through meetings with world leaders because he is bored.”
And these are not just the grievances of a few disgruntled former employees. These critiques all have been borne out as valid in the president’s erratic dealings with foreign leaders, his shakedown of the president of Ukraine for an investigation of Democratic rival Joe Biden and his abject failure to lead an adequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has left 230,000 Americans dead and our economy damaged.
Olivia Troye,w ho worked as homeland security, counter terrorism and coronavirus adviser to Vice President Mike Pence for two years, said Trump’s response to the pandemic “was all about the election. He just can’t seem to care about anyone else besides himself.”
“The president’s rhetoric and his own attacks against people in his administration trying to do the work, as well as the promulgation of false narratives and incorrect information of the virus have made this ongoing response a failure,” she said.
The list of well-informed critiques can go on and on. That includes the many prominent Republicans — former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Whitman and others — who have announced that they will be voting for Biden, the 19 aides, allies and even familymembers who have spoken against Trump and the 20 former U.S. attorneys — all Republicans — who say Trump threatens “the rule of law.”
These are not wild-eyed partisans. These aremen and women who know something about Trump and something about public service and do not believe he deserves another four years.
Voters should listen.