Imagine, if you will, Benedict Arnold’s treason was exposed in 1780, but before the Colonial Army’s final victory at Yorktown in 1781, General Washington had to provide Arnold with detailed attack plans and military intelligence gleaned from American spy networks. Imagine if President Kennedy had to update the Rosenbergs on the Cuban Missile Crisis. How about if Robert Hanssen got to sit in on situation room meetings post 9/11? These might seem like preposterous exercises, but that is essentially what President Biden is supposed to do now that trump is the Republican nominee for President.
Since 1952 the nominees for President have been provided security briefings. This is a gesture (not a law) to ensure the smooth transition of power no matter the outcome of the election. This made sense pre-trump because you didn’t want a candidate to assume the job blind. However, those days are behind us.
Let’s not sugarcoat this: donald trump is a national security threat. Full stop. He has shown deference and adoration for the world’s most vile, corrupt and ruthless autocrats. He had multiple conversations with Vladimir Putin where he ordered his translator to destroy all notes. He took Putin’s side in Helsinki over our own intelligence agencies. He has repeated his desire to leave NATO. He has said publicly he would let Russia do what they want if his shakedown attempts didn’t yield higher financial investment from NATO countries. He took money from foreign enemies and made millions while in office. His daughter and son in law secured billions from Saudi Arabia and millions in patents from China with no clear explanation as to why. He has purloined countless top secret and classified documents and stored them in the shit rooms of his shit house in Palm Beach. Then lied about it. Then refused to give them back. He has spoken openly about jailing journalists, political opponents, people not sufficiently sycophantic to him. He has advocated for violence against any perceived enemies from judges on down to volunteer election workers. And now he owes nearly half a billion dollars in civil judgements, which he apparently can’t pay despite being a self proclaimed billionaire.
The old rules no longer apply. The decorum observed in politics of days past no longer exists. The “Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan, sipping cognacs and discussing policy” civility is never going to happen again while arsonists control the levers of power in the GOP. Trying to remain stuck in those halcyon days is foolish, naive and a clear and present danger to our country. That’s why President Biden needs to vehemently refuse to provide trump with the daily briefing.
Although the media keeps attempting to push this narrative that trump is a traditional candidate, President Biden must instead treat him as an enemy of the state. Anyone not blind or dumb enough to be a member of his cult can clearly see the threat he poses and he should not be granted any courtesies afforded past nominees. Treat him like the treasonous, corrupt, immoral pariah he is.