Trump Hits Back at GOP National Security Critics

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and friends have fired back at a group of GOP national security officials who signed a letter saying he would be “a dangerous President” and “unqualified” for the Oval Office.

The letter, made public Monday, was signed by 50 former senior officials and said the Republican presidential nominee “lacks the character, values, and experience to be President.” Among the signatories are former CIA and National Security Agency director Michael Hayden, former Director of National Intelligence and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, and former secretaries of homeland security, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff.

While the signatories “have doubts” about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, they will not vote for Trump, who they said “would be the most reckless President in American history.”

“In addition, Mr. Trump has demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding of America’s vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances, and the democratic values on which U.S. foreign policy must be based,” the letter reads. “At the same time, he persistently compliments our adversaries and threatens our allies and friends. Unlike previous Presidents who had limited experience in foreign affairs, Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself.”
Democrats have attacked Trump’s suitability to be commander-in-chief, but his candidacy has also roiled the Republican Party. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine; Rep. Scott Ridgell, R-Va.; Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa.; and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., are among lawmakers who have said they cannot vote for Trump.

Fueling concerns about him, Trump has complimented Russian President Vladimir Putin, invited Russia to hack Clinton’s email server—remarks he later said were meant to be sarcastic—and said he would decide whether to defend NATO members from a Russian attack based on whether they contributed to the alliance. He has also suggested he would support pulling US troops out of Japan unless Tokyo picked up more of the tab for hosting US bases.

Late Monday, Trump, who is running as an outsider candidate, dismissed the signatories to the letter as “the failed Washington elite looking to hold onto their power.”

“They are the ones the American people should look to for answers on why the world is a mess, and we thank them for coming forward so everyone in the country knows who deserves the blame for making the world such a dangerous place,” Trump said in a statement.
One veteran former defense official defended the signatories and said their letter, and a lack of support from Collins in particular, represents real concerns among foreign policy heavyweights about the repercussions of a Trump presidency.

"For them to come out and say Trump would be the most reckless president, I think people are worried," the former official said. "So I think Trump will have to name some of his cabinet people before the election to try and ease some minds. I could certainly see that happening. He could do that to diffuse some of the concerns."

Jim Carafano, of the right-leaning Heritage Foundation, on Tuesday dismissed concerns both about the real-estate mogul's foreign policy chops and the impact of the letter on his run.

"In the grand scan of things, this doesn't move the bubble," Carafano said. "Ninety-nine percent of people outside the beltway don't know who any of these people are anyway. If they weren't going to vote for him, they'll say, 'I knew that guy was whatever.' If they were, this proves exactly what they thought, which is the Washington elite don't like him, therefore he must be a good candidate."
Carafano said he does not agree with Trump on everything, but contended Trump has "a proven leadership record" and "fits within the broad spectrum" of Republican ideas. Trump, Carafano noted, supports a more robust national defense—"a core conservative principle and something we have been stressing for a really long time."

"The candidate has committed to a major rebuilding of the US military, and of all these national security experts, nobody talks about that," Carafano said. "They go hyperbolic about things he says in a press conference, but a major policy commitment to rebuild national defense—zero interest."
On Tuesday, Rudolph Giuliani, former New York Mayor and a Trump ally, defended him on the Fox network’s “Fox & Friends,” echoing the idea that the letter bolsters Trump’s outsider credentials as he campaigns to “revolutionize” Washington.

“I believe it makes Donald Trump’s candidacy really clear—he is running against the Washington insiders. You just heard from all the Washington insiders,” Giuliani said. “These are all the people who have been running policy for the last eight or 10 years, 12 years. The American people have delivered a judgment on that. They say America is headed in the wrong direction. These are the people who headed it in the wrong direction.”

Trump is “not part of the club,” Giuliani said, contrasting him with past presidential hopefuls from both parties: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., Secretary of State John Kerry and former Vice President Al Gore.

“He’s not part of the Washington insiders who have brought us what we have: We have a dysfunctional government, we have a more dangerous world, we have a budget out of control and a budget deficit out of control,” Giuliani said. “We have truly anemic tax growth.”