A lot of hoopla is being made this week about former Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan saying publicly that he won’t vote for Trump. That’s all well and good, but what really bothers me is that he did not say that he would vote for Biden. Instead, he said he’d be writing in a Republican candidate that he did not name. So he essentially is going to be throwing away his vote, and not doing ALL that he can do to ensure that the presidency is not handed back to Trump, who Ryan declared does not have the character to be president. In my book, this is a lame attempt to appear courageous without really being courageous — faux courage.
We’re seeing this time and time again lately from Republican “leaders,” including many former Trump administration officials, who talk about how dangerous a second Trump presidency would be yet aren’t willing to use their vote to help ensure that doesn’t happen by voting for Joe Biden. A sampling:
- Trump’s former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper declared in late March on “Real Time With Bill Maher” that he would not vote for Trump, calling him a “threat to democracy” — yet he wasn’t yet ready to say that he’d vote for Biden. Even Maher found this to be BS. Although Esper said that he is leaving the door open to vote for Biden, Maher responded by noting “That’s a slow-opening door.”
- Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton said last month that he won’t be voting for Trump in November, but he too will be throwing away his vote by writing in Dick Cheney. Even though Bolton has described Trump as “corrupt, poorly informed and reckless” and has expressed his view that a second Trump presidency would focus on retribution, he won’t do all that he can do to ensure that Trump is not elected. More faux courage.
- Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence had one of the biggest faux courage moments recently, when in March he said he would not endorse Donald Trump but would not even say whether or not he would vote for Trump. Trump was willing to send the MAGA mob to attack Pence on January 6, yet Pence avowed that he “would never vote for Joe Biden.” Got it.
There are many other former Trump cabinet officials who have publicly criticized Trump, including James Mattis, John Kelly and Gen. HR McMaster, but as far as I can tell none of them have made any statements about who they plan to vote for and certainly have not urged people to vote for the one person who can stop another Trump presidency: Joe Biden. (And don’t get me started on Bill Barr, who actually said with a straight face that Trump was “unfit for office” but that he would vote for him.)
I wish more of these prominent former Trump officials would have the true courage of former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan, who declared this week in an Atlanta Journal Constitution op-ed that not only is he not voting for Trump but that he is voting for Joe Biden. Duncan stated that Trump has “disqualified himself through his conduct and character.”
Duncan argued in an op-ed, published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday, that the former president has spread “unfounded conspiracy theories” that led to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, handled the COVID-19 pandemic in an “erratic” manner and fueled racial unrest in the country.
“Yes, elections are a binary choice. Yes, serious questions linger about President Biden’s ability to serve until the age of 86. His progressive polWe icies aren’t to conservatives’ liking,” wrote Duncan. “But the GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden.”
We need a lot more Republican leaders, including former Trump officials, to speak up like Duncan is speaking up and pointing out that the best way to prevent another Trump presidency is to vote for Joe Biden. By stating that they do not support Trump but won’t be voting for Biden, they are giving permission to Republican voters who don’t like Trump but are hesitant to vote for a Democrat to also throw away their votes instead of doing all they can to ensure that we don’t have another Trump presidency.
This week I heard Republican Sarah Longwell of The Bulwark and the Republican Accountability Project speak on one of the MSNBC shows (can’t remember which one) where she made this very point. She said that these Republican leaders need to speak out publicly and consistently and repeatedly to not only talk about how disastrous another Trump presidency would be but to urge people to vote for Joe Biden. I couldn’t agree more.