GOP national security leaders sign letter vowing to actively oppose Donald Trump
On Wednesday, 60 prominent Republican former national security officials and experts released an open letter calling Donald Trump a dangerous foreign policy naif who as president "would use the authority of his office to act in ways that make America less safe" and pose "a distinct threat to civil liberty in the United States." Therefore, the signatories concluded, "as committed and loyal Republicans, we are unable to support a party ticket with Mr. Trump at its head. We commit ourselves to working energetically to prevent the election of someone so utterly unfitted to the office."
The national security experts, as they say at the top of the letter, do "represent a broad spectrum of opinion." There are noted hawks like Robert Kagan, Max Boot, Randy Scheunemann, John Noonan, and Roger Noriega, and also more centrist experts like Robert Zoellick, Daniel Drezner, and Andrew Natsios. And after this, it's hard to imagine any of them having a job in a Trump administration.
They don't just disavow Trump, they also list some reasons why, including: "His admiration for foreign dictators such as Vladimir Putin"; his "wildly inconsistent and unmoored in principle" vision of "American influence and power in the world"; his economically disastrous "advocacy for aggressively waging trade wars"; his "inexcusable" and repugnant "embrace of the expansive use of torture"; "his hateful, anti-Muslim rhetoric" and "utter misreading of, and contempt for," Mexico; and their belief that Trump "is fundamentally dishonest."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The target audience of the letter is probably not hard-core Trump supporters, since "establishment" isn't a selling point for that segment of the electorate. But sometimes you have to take a stand, and you can read the GOP national security community's letter at War on the Rocks.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing U.S. campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M
Speed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published