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After Donald Trump’s federal criminal indictment was unsealed, current and former national security officials assessed the evidence, found it “devastating,” and wondered aloud just how much damage the former president did to his own country’s national security.
Among the critics is the Republican’s former Defense secretary. Politico reported:
Painting him as a security risk, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday added his voice to those critical of former President Donald Trump for his handling of classified information after his presidency. Esper, who served in Trump’s Cabinet, said: “People have described him as a hoarder when it comes to these type of documents. But clearly, it was unauthorized, illegal and dangerous.”
When CNN’s Jake Tapper asked the former Pentagon chief if Trump could ever be trusted again with the nation’s secrets, Esper replied, “Based on his actions, again, if proven true under the indictment by the special counsel, no.”
These concerns are part of a larger pattern. It was last summer when the former Defense secretary, who worked alongside Trump for a year and a half, publicly declared that the former president is unsuited for public office. Esper went on to agree that Trump represents “a threat to democracy,” before concluding that the former president is “unfit for office.”
As best as I can tell, Trump has not yet responded publicly to his former cabinet secretary’s latest criticisms, though he has invested a fair amount of time engaging in a lengthy fight with other former members of his administration.
Indeed, one of the great oddities of the 2024 race for the GOP nomination is that Trump isn’t just concerned about taking on his intra-party rivals, he also has to take on high-profile and high-ranking officials from his White House team who clearly hold him in low regard.
Earlier this month, for example, the Republican lashed out at Kayleigh McEnany, his former White House press secretary. If the message was intended to intimidate former Trump administration officials into submission, it didn’t work: The former president soon faced new criticisms from, among others, former Attorney General Bill Barr, former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Outraged by their insolence, Trump condemned Kelly and released a profane video on Friday, viciously attacking Barr, Bolton, and others he’d put in key positions.
It was two days later when Barr slammed his former boss again, coinciding with Esper’s latest round of criticisms.
In other words, Trump is dealing simultaneously with his comeback campaign, multiple criminal indictments, the prospect of additional criminal charges, and leading former members of his team airing their contempt for him in public.
It’s amazing in part because there’s no modern precent for anything like this, and in part because it intensifies the challenge for Trump’s followers.
It’s clear that these voters are not going to listen to Democrats. Or scholars. Or judges. Or prosecutors. Or journalists. But perhaps they’d consider trusting the word of people Trump himself put in key positions of authority, and who worked alongside him for years while he was in the White House?