We have warning. If this country elects Trump in 2024, we will have chosen it.
The warning comes from Trump's top appointees.
Gen. Mark Milley leaves the job as Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff telling Americans that Trump attempted to use the U.S. military to overturn the Constitution to retain office.
Former White House Chief of Staff, retired Marine general John Kelly, spoke frankly about Trump:
The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it’s more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life.
Another former White House Chief of Staff, retired Marine general James Mattis said Trump was "more dangerous than anyone can imagine."
Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. . . We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was quoted calling Trump "a fucking moron." In Foreign Policymagazine he said:
It's really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn't even understand the concept for why we're talking about this. . . . Just sitting and trying to have a conversation as you and I are having just doesn't work.
Former Attorney General Bill Barr said in a PBS interview last month:
[Trump's] conduct here involved, trying to subvert and prevent the progress, the execution of probably the most important process and proceeding we have in our country, which is the peaceful transfer of power after an election.
And what's being alleged here is that he knew that he lost the election, he knew that the claims of a stolen election were false, and yet he decided he was going to try to stay in office by subverting that process, by putting out misinformation, but, more important, by putting out these false panels of electors and presenting them to Congress and trying to push the vice president to make these decisions to suppress the legitimate votes.
I mean, that was outrageous.
The GOP electorate is undergoing a stampede in the direction of making Trump their nominee. Democrats cannot turn the herd. Only Republicans with national reputations can credibly warn their fellows. So far, Trump can pick them off and isolate them one at a time as they speak out. He calls them RINOs and enemies of the people: the Bush family, Liz Cheney, Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, and each of those former appointees.
Mitt Romney called the silence of his fellow GOP senators cowardice and careerism. The incentive for ambitious Republicans is to be either a teammate of the winner, sharing the glory and power (Lindsay Graham and many fellow Republican senators and governors), or to be a successor to Trump (most of the presidential aspirants.) The incentive for conservative media is to be a cheerleader retaining the loyal market segment of the GOP base.
I believe there are still wise people within the GOP who understand Trump's danger. Some don't want to get involved. Some are scared off by what happened to Liz Cheney. Some are rivals of one another. They hedge their criticism of Trump, apparently hoping something stops him, perhaps the judicial system or inevitable mortality. Meanwhile they publicly condemn that judicial system and praise Trump's vitality. The stampede continues.
This content ought to be a guest op-ed in every paper in Oregon.
I believe 70% of the voters who will choose Trump in the next election will be people with no concept of his flaws but identify as "Trump and I kick ass and take names". The other 30% of his voters will be people who know his dangers, don't like him, but will vote for "The Party" as they feel that's the only to solve the border crisis, inflation, etc.