I’ve written a lot about Donald Trump in this space, basically arguing that his views signify a sea change in the foreign policy discourse in this country. His rise, I’ve averred, augurs the end of the neoconservatives as a viable political force within the GOP, and the beginning of an “isolationist” (i.e. anti-interventionist) trend in American politics that will upend the Establishment of both parties.
So why didn’t I vote for him when I had the chance?
I have to admit I was sorely tempted: the opportunity to make Bill Kristol a very unhappy man was almost too much to pass up. And yet, in the end, when I got my mail ballot, and I sat down and looked at it, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it for a very simple reason: the man isn’t the movement.
The Trump phenomenon is one thing, and Donald Trump the person is quite another. While the former is to be cheered and encouraged, for reasons I’ll get into in a minute, the latter is a very mixed bag.
- He wants to increase domestic surveillance in the name of fighting the “war on terrorism.” At once point he suggested we would have to shut down “parts of the internet.”
- He advocates torture of alleged terrorists and says he would murder their families.
- While opposing US intervention in Syria – he once asked Bill O’Reilly “Do you want to own Syria?” – he now says he wants to create a “safe zone” in Syria so the refugees don’t have to come here. Call me crazy, but that looks like military intervention to me.
- He wants to deport 11 million illegal aliens, an operation that – assuming it isn’t stopped by the courts – would be inevitably ugly and provoke massive resistance.
