Read on Twitter
THREAD: If you'll indulge me, I'd like to point how just how embarrassing this list of "national security officials and other senior officials" endorsing Trump is—especially for a Republican president. Especially for an *incumbent* GOP president. There are three major problems: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1311745016780460033
1) As a starting point, this is just a head-slapping, eyes-widening list of minor officials and forgotten hangers-on. This is the best that the incumbent President of the United States is able to muster to support his national security vision?
This is hardly the creme de la creme of US foreign policy, the US military, or the world's greatest intelligence thinkers. Many of these people stretch the definition of even a "senior official," let alone a respected national security voice.
In the first column, you have a former RNC chair, someone was on an advisory committee for the Dept of Education, and the most unpopular attorney general since the 1920s, an Iran-Contra figure who was accused of "lack of ethical sensitivity" and "blindness to abuse of position."
Then the next page is former Rep. Bob Barr, who accidentally fired a gun at a fundraiser and is best known for being a Clinton impeachment manager and, well—to quote directly—being photographed "licking whipped cream from the chests of two buxom women." https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/barr021098.htm
Same page: Allen West, another former congressman probably best known for his anti-Islam remarks, who retired from the military after facing punishment for staging a mock execution of an Iraqi policeman while serving there.
Lower down? "Rodolphe M. Vallee, Former U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia." That would be Vermont's own convenience store magnate, Skip Vallee, best known for his overpriced gas, and who recently settled a price-fixing lawsuit for $1.5 million. https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2019/10/17/vermont-gas-distributors-to-settle-price-fixing-lawsuit-for-15-million
2) The list is *riddled* with errors and screwed-up formatting—a consistent trait of the entire Trump administration. Normally the communications of a president are supposed to be precise and accurate, well-checked and well-sourced... https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/elected-to-lead-not-to-proofread-typos-spelling-mistakes-are-commonplace-in-trumps-white-house/2018/03/21/092cd086-2d16-11e8-b0b0-f706877db618_story.html
It's one thing for Trump's own words to be a verbal word salad—it's something else that his *staff* don't even care enough for him to do good work. How little do they respect their own candidate? In a normal campaign, you'd be fired for something this sloppy.
. @JoeTrippi trippi literally crumpled up my work and threw things at me when I made mistakes on the campaign back in 2003. This is a D-list staff listing D-list endorsements.
Some of my favorite typos: "Former Ty McCoy." Misspelling "Counsel." Inconsistent references between House vs. Senate. And something called the "National Security Coun"! Also lots of random commas and odd spacing. Like seriously—did anyone read this before it went out?
3) Lastly, is just who's *not* on this list. The biggest names here are Trump's own former staff—KT McFarland, Matt Schlapp, Rudy Guiliani. But even there, all of the biggest *actual* national security names of his admin are missing...
HR McMaster, John Bolton, John Kelly, and Jim Mattis are not only not endorsing him, they're blasting him. McMaster was actually out this *week* criticizing Trump. As @jbview jokes, probably more former Trump staff have endorsed Biden than are listed here. https://twitter.com/jbview/status/1311788241146839040
tl;dr: When you have to list an endorsement from your own criminal defense attorney as supporting your national security vision, you're not winning.
This is a campaign that started with George Papadopoulos and Carter Page as the best it could muster as foreign policy aides. Four years in the White House—the actual nuclear football at his side—and he hasn’t impressed anyone smarter. That should terrify *us*.
Actually! It’s confirmed: More Republican national security officials have endorse Biden than endorsed Trump here. https://twitter.com/citizenwillis/status/1311827702966611968
