50 senior Republican national security officials have signed an open letter saying they will not support Donald Trump. These include many prominent Republicans who served under President George W. Bush, including:
The former director of the CIA and NSA Michael Hayden; Deputy secretary of state and the first director of national intelligence John D. Negroponte; Robert B. Zoellick, another former deputy secretary of state, United States trade representative, and president of the World Bank; Michael Chertoff, a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey and former homeland security secretary; and Eric S. Edelman, the national security adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney; among many other prominent national security staffers.
In the letter, these men state that “Donald Trump is not qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief…” and that “…he would be a dangerous President and would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.” The letter goes on to question Trump’s knowledge of, and commitment to, the Constitution of the United States. It also states that the GOP nominee has little understanding of the importance of strategic alliances, or of the democratic values that should undergird foreign policy.
“This is not about NATO,” Said John Bellinger, the former Legal advisor to Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, and a signatory of the letter, “..It’s not about trade, it’s not about Russia, it’s not about cyber. We really wanted to focus on the character, temperament and judgment that we have seen are required of good presidents.”
He went on to say “What we really wanted to do was to raise the alarm and awareness among voters who may find Mr. Trump attractive in a lot of ways, but do not understand what is required to be president of the United States. We are trying to say to them, we have served inside the White House, we have worked with presidents for decades, we know what’s required to be president, and we are deeply concerned Donald Trump does not have these qualifications, the judgment or the temperament.”
Donald Trump responded by saying “The names on this letter are the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess…” He continued on to say “We thank them for coming forward so everyone in the country knows who deserves the blame for making the world such a dangerous place.”
Arthur Cleroux
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