Critics, Unite!
What if those who have dealt with Trump's malignancy speak out about how dangerous a second term would be—not just once but in a sustained effort?
There’s no simple answer to the question of what will ensure that a malignant narcissist who yearns to be a dictator won’t retake the levers of power in 2024. No, there’s no silver bullet, especially when so many people are indifferent, discouraged or sitting on the fence.
As if the danger in our midst were not obvious enough. As if there should be any confusion that this is not about choosing the better of two evils. As if there is any doubt this is about the very survival of the American democratic experiment.
As an exasperated Maureen Dowd put it in her New York Times column over the weekend, “Why should I have to make the case that a man who tried to overthrow the government should not be president again?”
But that’s the thing: This year is about expanding peoples’ imagination about what the future portends if the vengeful Donald Trump were elected—and what the future promises if Joe Biden had four more years to pursue a progressive agenda focused on improving the lives of Americans.
That’s gotten me thinking about all the dozens and dozens of people who’ve dealt with Trump and know how unfit and dangerous he is. We have heard many of them speak out for a day, one news cycle, one article or two, maybe even for a few days and a whole series of interviews. Both former Rep. Liz Cheney and former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson are clear outliers in their sustained commitment (although they both have been promoting books).
But what if all these knowing critics agreed to pursue a sustained effort to warn the country? What if they went to red states, did joint interviews and public events, appeared on as many cable news shows across the political spectrum as they could? What if they let America know they will not be intimidated by Trump, his violent rhetoric or anonymous threats from his ugliest followers? What if they recognized this must be their duty to their country?
The list of knowing and vocal critics is long and growing. In October, CNN tallied two dozen former aides and allies. Among them: Former Chief of Staff John Kelly, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, former Attorney General William Barr, as well as Cassidy Hutchinson and Liz Cheney.
Consider these samples of what they have said publicly. Imagine what impact they could have collectively if they decided—like each of us—that they have a responsibility to serve their country now.
Kelly: Donald Trump is “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…God help us.”
Milley: “We don’t take an oath to a country, we don’t take an oath to a tribe, we don’t take an oath to a religion. We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.”
Pence: “The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution…Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”
Esper: “I think he’s unfit for office…He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country.”
Barr: “He’s a fundamentally flawed character who engages in reckless conduct that leads to calamitous situations…which are very destructive and hurt any political cause he’s associated with.” And subverting the peaceful transfer of power in 2020: “I don't see how the Republican Party could nominate someone who's capable of doing something like that.”
Hutchinson: “I think that Donald Trump is the most grave threat we will face to our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history.”
Cheney: "I think the most important thing to do now, without question, is to make sure we stop Donald Trump…What do we do to defeat the man who is an existential threat to our republic?"
In a sane world, indeed in an America where speaking out represents a fundamental freedom, banding together to say what you know would not be an act of courage. It would be a natural response.
But let’s not doubt that Trump has succeeded—in mob boss style—in threatening his critics, causing them to fear for their safety. That corrosive reality discouraged some Republicans from voting to impeach him; it also ensured silence from former aides and allies alarmed by the price of saying what they have seen and warning the public about what a second term portends.
After Trump proposed executing Gen. Milley for treason several months ago, the former chairman needed to take security measures to ensure his and his family’s safety. After Trump began his constant attacks against New York Judge Arthur Engoron—and the death threats began pouring in—the courts had to employ additional security precautions to get him and his staff to the courthouse safely. These are just two of many, many examples.
Dangerous times require brave men and women to stand up, not just to be counted, but to help shift the trajectory and ensure the survival of democracy. After the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan was terrorizing witnesses and juries throughout the South to avoid prosecution and continue their murderous reign of terror, frightening Black voters and potential Black elected officials.
But in 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant launched the Department of Justice and appointed the first U.S. Attorney General, Amos Akerman, who took swift, courageous action to stem the KKK’s spreading violence. This too is one of many, many examples of courage throughout American history that have helped sustain the nation’s forward movement.
Last month George Conway, J. Michael Luttig and Barbara Comstock—conservative lawyers all—wrote an essay in The New York Times announcing the formation of a new nonprofit to “support and defend” American democracy, the Constitution and the rule of law against “the growing crowd of grifters, frauds and con men willing to subvert the Constitution and long-established constitutional principles for the whims of political expediency.”
That “growing crowd” includes “a coterie of lawyers” who have and will assist Trump as he seeks to thwart the Constitution for his own dark purposes if he retakes the White House. As Conway, Luttig and Comstock concluded:
We are at a point when commitment to fundamental classical liberal tenets of our republican form of government is far more important than partisan politics and political party…Our country comes first, and our country is in a constitutional emergency, if not a constitutional crisis. We all must act accordingly, especially us lawyers.
What will it take to ensure that Trump never sets foot in the Oval Office again? There’s not just one answer. But I think part of the solution will include convincing many of his critics who know him best to emerge from their comfort zones and speak out—not just for a day but in a methodical, sustained way.
It’s likely too late for them to stop him from becoming the Republican nominee and intensifying his campaign of retribution, but not to do their duty before the general election. They should see what’s required: Nothing less than doing their part to help save the republic.
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I am driving myself crazy not understanding how so many people don’t remember his previous 4 years in office. Put aside for the moment the indictments. Just his time in office. How can so many not remember what he said and did!
Then there’s all the things President Biden has accomplished. Inflation way down from its high of 9%. Record low unemployment. Billion upon billions of dollars in student loans forgiven. The legislative bills passed that are improving our country. People are upset with the high prices, guess what, the President doesn’t control them. The free market does, big business does. The Fed has more to do with inflation than he does.
I know I’m preaching to the choir, but I am my wits end.
Just watched Ken Burns US and the Holocaust. Chilling and very clearly shows how Trump/MAGA is following the propaganda machine of the Third Reich in it’s rise to power, while showing the history of WW2, and not 2023.