Bill Kristol ‘Hopeful’ James Mattis Will Be 2020 Running Mate in Bid Against Trump
Peter D'Abrosca
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A staunch #NeverTrump critic has reportedly been attempting to woo a high-level cabinet member in President Donald J. Trump’s administration into running against Trump in the 2020 Republican primary.
“[Kristol] wondered hopefully, in the interview, about the availability of Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, and James Mattis,” according to report.
Kristol, perhaps the most anti-Trump character in the world of establishment punditry (and consequently the most out-of-touch with ordinary Americans) made the remarks in May after a speaking engagement at St. Anselm’s College.
He has consistently bashed the Trump movement as non-conservative, though Trump’s results have been the most conservative of any president in modern history.
“The irony of this moment: The conservative movement is in moral and intellectual collapse, just when many of the principles that movement sought to defend (if imperfectly)–personal probity, rule of law, limited government, American global leadership–are most in need of defense,” he said in December.
The irony of this moment: The conservative movement is in moral and intellectual collapse, just when many of the principles that movement sought to defend (if imperfectly)–personal probity, rule of law, limited government, American global leadership–are most in need of defense.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) December 9, 2017
One might think that after 40 years of failing to conserve anything using the Bill Kristol playbook of conservatism, he might have the self-awareness to realize that his opinion carries little weight.
He has also called Trump voters – all 63 million – insane.
“Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be president of a great country. Donald Trump shouldn’t be president of a sane country,” he said in 2016.
Hillary Clinton shouldn't be president of a great country. Donald Trump shouldn't be president of a sane country.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) August 3, 2016
Frankly, Mattis has not been much stronger than Kristol as a supporter of Trump, though he is Trump’s appointed Secretary of Defense.
“Our country right now, it’s got problems we don’t have in the military,” Mattis said in 2017, clearly taking a shot at Trump. “You just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it.”
Mattis opposed Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and has consistently pushed for military intervention is Syria, which Trump has tried to avoid.
From a foreign policy standpoint, a Kristol/Mattis pairing makes sense. Where war-weary Trump supporters would prefer to leave Islamic savages in the Middle East alone, allowing them to kill each other, both Kristol along with Mattis would prefer to spend trillions of dollars and sacrifice thousands of lives (how conservative!) in an attempt to turn every Middle Eastern nation in to a Western democracy. It has never worked, but the bloodthirsty military industrial complex drum beats on.
Make no mistake – Trump has been hoodwinked. He let his admiration for the military get the best of him in appointment of Mattis. It it imperative that he find out who Mattis really is before Mattis can sabotage his presidency further.
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