The Hill – Page 2 – * Failed Pols

One of the most dangerous ways in which Donald Trump is acting out his anger at the American people for not re-electing him is by firing key Pentagon leaders whose job is to help keep us safe. Donald Trump’s petulant response to losing the 2020 presidential election doesn’t, in itself, surprise many Americans; we know who he is. We knew Trump was likely to lash out in a burn-down-the-house way, and we still expect that he will refuse to physically leave the White House on January 20 without being forcefully escorted out. What is dismaying, shocking, and terrifying, however, is the depth to which Donald Trump has demonstrated not just a self-absorbed disregard, but a profound contempt for Americans, our safety, and our democratic systems.

At times, we can imagine Donald Trump consulting a mail-order copy of the Acme Handbook for Authoritarian Rulers, or perhaps Despotism for Dummies; his actions and words often seem to come straight from some step-by-step tutorial for plunging a democratic republic into authoritarian rule. Malign the press: check. Undermine elections and suppress voting: check. Promote an “us vs. them” divide among citizens: check. Align with world dictators and strongmen: check. Flout the country’s Constitution and laws: check. Refuse to accept the results of a fair and free election: check, check, check. And the item that has picked up momentum as of late: Install loyalists and sycophants in government positions: check.

Ever since Donald Trump took office, he has appointed cronies, top donors, and other loyalists to cabinet and top government positions, even though many of them had no qualifications for their appointments. This is nothing new for the Trump administration. Trump has also regularly removed those who have displeased him or otherwise shown “disloyalty,” real or imagined. Since losing the 2020 election, however, Trump’s actions along these lines have reached a new level of danger, as he replaces top officials with unqualified Trump loyalists in the Department of Defense— the agency charged with our national security, that is, with keeping Americans safe at home and abroad.

First, there was the ouster of former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Monday, November 9. Esper had openly opposed Trump’s use of the military against sometimes-violent protests around the country following the death of George Floyd in May. Esper was aware that Trump wasn’t pleased, and expected he might eventually be fired, so had a resignation letter prepared. The firing of Esper seems to be the beginning of a trend at the Pentagon.

In light of Trump’s evident authoritarian tendencies, it’s not at all unreasonable to speculate that, during his dwindling lame duck period, he plans to weaken the Department of Defense in order to use the military to carry out domestic or global acts that he has been advised against up to this point. It’s also not beyond reason to imagine that this is only the beginning of the many possible ways Trump, in his rage at losing re-election, could imperil the country.

Says House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith, “It is hard to overstate just how dangerous high-level turnover at the Department of Defense is during a period of presidential transition. If this is the beginning of a trend — the President either firing or forcing out national security professionals in order to replace them with people perceived as more loyal to him — then the next 70 days will be precarious at best and downright dangerous at worst.”

By the end of the day on Tuesday, a number of other Defense Department civilian employees resigned and were quickly replaced with Trump loyalists, at least some of whom are known to promote “deep state” conspiracy theories.

Among those who left their Pentagon roles on Tuesday was acting under secretary of defense for policy James Anderson, who was known to have collided numerous times with the White House over its practice of installing Trump allies. Anderson was replaced by— yes, a Trump ally— Retired Brigadier General Anthony Tata. Some lawmakers have found Tata’s appointment as policy chief distressing, since he has demonstrated xenophobia, racism, and sexism. Tata has derided Islam, called former president Obama a “terrorist leader,” and promoted the conspiracy theory that Obama was a “Manchurian candidate.”

“Trump’s Defense Department purge is deeply dangerous to our national security—first firing SecDef Esper by tweet & now promoting a known racist Islamophobe,” said Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

Also on Tuesday, Jen Stewart, the chief of staff to newly installed acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller, resigned and was quickly replaced by Kash Patel. Patel, who has had numerous roles in the Trump administration, played a role in helping Republicans discredit the Russia probe.

A third high-level Pentagon employee to submit his resignation on Tuesday was retired Navy vice admiral Joseph Kernan as undersecretary of defense for intelligence. He was temporarily replaced by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, who was a close ally of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, and who was known to be aligned with Flynn regarding his views on the failings of the CIA.

In addition to the swift replacement of these Defense Department heads, FBI Director Christopher Wray and CIA Director Gina Haspel may be in danger of being replaced. Trump has said that he might fire Wray after the election; he has been frustrated with Wray for, among other things, his refusal to investigate alleged corruption within the FBI, as well as his refusal to announce an investigation into Trump’s opponent, Joe Biden. Further demonstration of Wray’s “disloyalty” to Trump was when Wray appeared in an election security video that debunked much of Trump’s conspiracy theory about election fraud.

As for Gina Haspel, most recently, the Trump administration has commented that Haspel should be fired for not objecting to the use of election software, which, according to Trump, allowed “election fraud,” and resulted in Joe Biden’s winning the 2020 presidential election.

“This confirms what I have been saying for months,” said House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith. “The President’s singular obsession with loyalty has severely undermined the competence of our government and made us less safe. It is an insult to the American people to hamstring government, particularly during a period of presidential transition.”

Donald Trump, in his great need for absolute loyalty from those associated with him, and his malignant narcissistic rage at losing re-election, has demonstrated that issues like our national security, or the safety of Americans, are of no consequence to him. He not only sees those who disagree with him, such as the Pentagon officials he rapidly replaced, as disloyal, he sees any indication that the results of the election are accurate (and that he lost) as an expression of disloyalty. Donald Trump’s desire to exact revenge for having lost, as well as to retaliate against Democrats by setting President-elect Joe Biden up for failure, take precedence over any presidential, humanitarian, or rational thought processes.

President Trump fires Defense Secretary Mark Esper | ABC News
[2020-11-09]

Trump continues Pentagon shake-up, gives loyalists key roles |
CBS Evening News [2020-11-11]

The holidays are going to be difficult this year. It’s tragically true that the coronavirus pandemic has hobbled large traditional gatherings, but the past four years have hobbled many relationships.

No matter who wins the 2020 presidential election, some healing must take place if we’re going to stop our country from continuing on its trajectory of falling to shreds.

Frankly, I don’t clearly see how that healing is going to happen. It certainly won’t be as simple reaching out clasping hands with our adversaries. It’s not easy to smile on your brother if that brother (or sister) has demonstrated, through their support of a president who promotes violence, bullying, racism, and the mistreatment of women, that he or she supports those things, too.

They believe what Trump says: that if Joe Biden becomes president, the country will plummet into chaos, violence, and (gasp) socialism. I have difficulty understanding or justifying that point of view, but it is a point of view, and those who hold it will have just as much difficulty walking arm-in-arm with those of us who see hope in a president Joe Biden.

I am not of the mindset that, deep down, “people are the same wherever you go,” or even that all Americans, in their own way, want what they think is best for the country. To me, it seems clear that people who are motivated by hatred or even by a disinterest in others’ well-being are not the same as those who are not motivated by those things. Nor, to me, do they appear to want what’s best for America.

I won’t for one second extend an olive branch to a white supremacist, or to anyone else who advocates violence or terrorism against fellow human beings for any reason. But there are those others who don’t march with the white supremacists, or wield AR-15s to threaten peaceful protesters, or agree with Trump’s comments about military service personnel being losers, yet who have revealed an alarming side of themselves in one way or another in the demonstration of their continued support of Donald Trump.

Even if they have not directly endangered our lives or threatened our personal safety, they have indirectly endangered some others’ lives by promoting and supporting Donald Trump and his rhetoric of racism, division, and a version of “law and order” that blames Black people and “blue states” for all of the crime and destruction taking place across the country, and advocates the use of violence and weaponry against them as their remedy.

Come to think of it, they have also indirectly threatened the lives and well-being of all Americans in their support of Trump’s efforts to end the Affordable Care Act (which impacts some of the rules for all insurance plans, including private ones). What’s more, those of them who choose to follow Trump’s example of dismissing the coronavirus, refusing to wear masks, and scoffing at social distancing guidelines during this pandemic are part of a group that has placed all of our lives in jeopardy.

Many of them are our neighbors with whom we used to be friendly, but who haven’t spoken to us since we put up the Black Lives Matter yard signs. They are our friends and acquaintances with whom we used to share a laugh, until they began posting absurd conspiracy theories on social media, with the caption, “Do your research,” or “thought you might find this interesting.” They are the people in our lives who are offended when a football player kneels during the National Anthem, but who see the Trump Campaign’s deliberate disinformation ads as “freedom of speech.”

And some of them are our family members whom we’ve always loved, but with whom we can no longer have a conversation that goes any deeper than the topic of the weather.

I have relatives who have not only questioned my judgment for supporting Joe Biden; they have also questioned my morality for doing so, as I am compelled to question theirs for not doing so. Before 2016, they saw patriotism as loyalty to country; now they’re unable to distinguish between loyalty to country and loyalty to Trump. One of them lived in a country for several years that lost its fight to Soviet Communism, and they all used to see the threat of thugs like Putin as a threat to our democracy. Now, they make excuses for Trump’s adoration and deference to the man who was a KGB officer in the Soviet Union.

Many of us have loved ones like this, who have joined the Cult of Trump, and some of them shocked us when they did. We’re disturbed by the revelations of what’s in their hearts, yet we love them, and we need them in our lives. We want things to be different, and they aren’t. They wish we were different, and we aren’t. “If only they’d just wake up and see the truth,” both sides say.

We talk about “healing” as a nation, but is it really possible? If Joe Biden is elected president, he can set about mending our damaged relationships with our global allies, but our global allies have already seen us as we are now, a nation whose divisiveness, nurtured under Trump, has hollowed out our foundation. With so much hate, fear, pain, and division among us, how can we be a strong, reliable ally in the world again, as we seek to undermine each other— those within our own borders?

We may never again hold hands around a campfire with everyone who used to be in our lives. We may need to do some mourning. Some of our relationships are never going to be the same as a result of this presidency and the divisiveness it has relied on for nourishment. We’re bereft.

Our hope lies in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to guide us toward healing; toward feeling safe again, or, for some, feeling safe for the first time. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, if elected, would finally lay to silence the endless bullhorn of malice that blares from the White House day and night. That, alone, would be a powerful healing force. Biden and Harris have already shown that their approach to leading this divided nation will be not, “we’re better,” but instead, “we can do better.”

It seems inconceivable that Donald Trump could win four more years in the White House, but it’s possible. And if that happens, our great hope will lie in our ability to continue to believe that some kind of healing is also still possible. And no great, wide healing of our country will be possible under any president unless we start small, doing what we can to repair the damage in our small portion of the larger foundation. I am glad that there are many people who are more optimistic than I am. I don’t know what healing will look like or how it will occur. I am sure, though, that no matter what, we must never stop saying to ourselves, and of ourselves, “We can do better.”

President Trump speaks on cars with Trump flags swarming Biden bus in Texas | The Hill [2020-11-02]

We Asked Trump Voters What Happens If He Loses | Insider News
[2020-11-02]

Category: The Hill

Editorial: Trump’s Replacement of Pentagon Leadership with Loyalists Shows Contempt for Americans

Editorial: Post-Trump or More Trump, We’ll Keep On