And that brings us to a decision by John Bolton.
You probably remember Bolton at a glance (he’s the semi-famous Trump insider with the even more famous white mustache). He also has become famous for the criticisms of Trump that are in his book, “The Room Where It Happened,” and the elaborating statements he made about his conclusions during his TV book tour.
Bolton wrote that Trump was “stunningly uninformed” and told ABC’s Martha Raddatz: “I don’t think he’s fit for office.”
Bolton wrote that Trump was easily manipulated by foreign leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin. “I think Putin thinks he can play (Trump) like a fiddle,” he added on ABC.
Recently, Bolton told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that he won’t vote for his former boss in November — but he won’t be voting for Biden either. He said he wrote in Dick Cheney’s name in 2020 and added: “And I’ll vote for Dick Cheney again this November.”
This leads us into the decision dilemma that the former Trump administration Republicans really must confront. These former Trump advisers are principled, experienced and respected by many Americans who are also lifelong Republican conservatives who live in the key swing states where the margins are close.
If a second Trump presidency endangers our democracy and world security, as these ex-advisers say, patriotic swing state Republican voters must not vote for Trump. But if they waste their votes on a hopeless choice — and don’t vote for Biden — they may enable a Trump victory in their key state.
That’s the dilemma Bolton and his ex-Trump teammates face. Their feel-good vote for a sure loser can enable a second presidency for the ex-boss they say may shatter our democracy and global security. And they know Biden will at least support their own vital positions on global security, NATO, Ukraine, Taiwan, the Middle East and yes, a strong bipartisan U.S. border security program.
That’s why the Biden White House ought to creatively encourage a new era of bipartisan global security. Biden should work with conservative experts to create a nonpartisan geopolitical think tank within his White House — to assure that the wide range of global policy options are explored so a patriotic consensus can be achieved.
Last week, ex-national intelligence director Dan Coats, a longtime conservative Republican senator, issued a patriotic warning to House Republicans who seek to halt military aid to Ukraine. “This is not the time for political games,” Coats wrote in a New York Times commentary. “It is time for America to do what we all know is right.”
Beneath the gleaming white dome, history’s most famous echoes still reverberate. You may even hear the immortal words of Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Arthur Vandenberg, who converted from isolationism to internationalism and worked with Harry Truman’s White House to enact the Truman Doctrine, Marshall Plan and NATO at the onset of the Cold War: “Partisan politics” must stop “at the water’s edge.”
What a concept.
