After serving in the U.S. Senate for four terms, people often ask me about how I think about this coming Presidential election. My answer: in a troubled world with lots of moving parts including multiple major wars and danger zones from the Middle East to Ukraine to Sudan to North Korea as well as nine nuclear weapon states, I will cast my vote primarily on national security concerns. While there are critical domestic policy decisions ahead, there are many checks and balances on these issues, including Congress and the courts. In foreign policy, the Executive Branch shapes our engagement in the world and the power of the Presidency is enormous, including the singular capacity to use nuclear weapons.
Effective national security leadership requires a president with a steady temperament, alongside wise and experienced advisors. Those selected for key positions like the Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, CIA Director, Attorney General, Secretary of State, to name a few, will determine the quality of American leadership in the world for the next four years with long enduring implications.
During my quarter of a century in the Senate, I have seen some top-notch key cabinet officials – top-notch military leaders and top-notch chiefs of staff – and some that do not have those capabilities. The difference in policy outcomes for our nation is often based upon who advises the president. Candid advice is essential, and the quality of that advice is crucial. The key is experience, good judgment, and the courage to speak truth to power.
We now have a choice between two candidates, one of whom will help shape the world’s destiny in the coming years. Let’s take a look at former President Trump’s record in this regard. He appointed several well-qualified people in his first term who spoke with candor. Let’s see what he has said about them publicly as he fired them (or they resigned) and thereafter:
He called Vice President Pence “delusional,” Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, “the world’s most overrated general,” Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, “weak and totally ineffective,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley, “a Woke train wreck,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, “dumb as a rock”, and Chief of Staff John Kelly, “by far the dumbest of my military people.”
A president can fire whom he chooses, but our nation paid a price when President Trump sought to publicly humiliate outstanding people whose main sin was telling him what he did not want to hear. So, we as voters face an important question – what kind of person will be willing to work for Donald Trump if he is re-elected?
First, he is not likely to appoint people to top national security positions who will disagree with him or offer competing points of view. But then, these kind of people that are quality, top policy advisors are not likely to take the job, even if offered.
There are a number of experienced Republican national security leaders, but I am afraid that the bottom line is that none of them are likely to be appointed or be willing to serve a re-elected President Trump. I am concerned that if Trump is returned to office, we will more likely get people who advise the president with flattery rather than facts. Can we afford to have a leader who intimidates, humiliates, and dismisses his team, sowing chaos in his own ranks?
I have watched Vice President Harris as she listened, learned, and acted in the Senate with diligence, calmness, and maturity. She then spent four years as Vice President where she has led with thoughtfulness and civility. I am confident that Vice President Harris knows the importance of experienced advisors who will give her their honest advice and – who will speak truth to power. I have seen the quality of the people she and President Biden have brought on to serve and work with them – leaders like Bill Burns, Avril Haines, Jake Sullivan, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Tony Blinken, and Philip Gordon. I have seen the performance of a leader who inspires and shows respect, while ensuring accountability, for the team that she and President Biden have built. Vice President Harris is well equipped to appoint and lead a national security team in facing our enormous global challenges.
In both public service and in the private sector, I have learned that expertise, integrity, and a strong team who face facts are essential to every enterprise. Leadership is about choosing your team, listening to them, and inspiring them to work effectively together. We all know the world is dangerous and complex and strong American leadership is essential. There is no more important team in the world than the one the next president will assemble to help her or him take the helm to manage America’s foreign and security policy. The stakes are very high.
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