Mike Pence gave up a fair amount to help Donald Trump.
Pence was a relatively successful guy. He’d served in the House of Representatives for more than a decade. He’d been the governor of Indiana. He had a reputation for being a devout Christian.
Pence served Trump loyally. Pence played a key role in the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. Pence gave Trump — now a convicted felon and, in the usual sense of the words, a rapist — credibility with the religious right. Pence became known on the left for being Trump’s lickspittle vice president.
Pence then made the mistake of standing up for the Constitution on January 6, 2021. Trump castigated Pence for lacking courage and stood idly by while rioters threatened to hang Pence. Pence became known on the right as being a traitor to Trump.
In the end, Pence had no support on the left and no support on the right. That’s a bad place to be.
Pence made a mistake: He trusted Donald Trump.
Rex Tillerson gave up a fair amount for Donald Trump.
Tillerson was the chairman and chief executive officer of ExxonMobil when Trump nominated Tillerson to be secretary of state in December 2016. That’s walking away from a pretty fancy job. Tillerson implemented the administration’s foreign policy agenda in 2017 and 2018.
But Tillerson made the mistake of disagreeing with Trump about a few policies. Tillerson thought that the U.S. should remain in the Iran nuclear deal. (That’s called advice, Don. You really should have listened.) Tillerson took a hard line against Russia for destabilizing American politics. (I bet that went over well.) Tillerson pushed back on proposals that he thought violated laws or treaties.
So Trump fired Tillerson (by tweet, of course).
Tillerson made a mistake: He trusted Donald Trump.
John Kelly gave up a fair amount for Donald Trump.
Kelly was a retired four-star general in the Marine Corps who was serving as secretary of homeland security in July 2017. Kelly agreed to serve as Trump’s chief of staff. Kelly tried to impose order on the White House and to protect Trump’s presidency from chaos.
So Trump eroded Kelly’s authority, mocked him publicly and privately, and pushed him out of office in about a year.
Kelly made a mistake: He trusted Donald Trump.
Canada gave up a fair amount for Donald Trump.
It agreed to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that replaced NAFTA, expanding trade with the United States. Canada deepened trade relationships between the countries.
So Trump announced that he wanted Canada to be the 51st American state, referred to the prime minister as “governor,” and treated Canadian sovereignty as a bargaining issue. Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on the country.
Canada made a mistake: It trusted Donald Trump.
The Kurds gave up a fair amount for Donald Trump.
The Kurds fought alongside the United States against ISIS, losing roughly 11,000 fighters. But Trump chatted with the Turkish president in October 2019 and then chose to withdraw troops from areas controlled by the Kurds, allowing a Turkish offensive.
The Kurds made a mistake: They trusted Donald Trump.
Ukraine gave up a fair amount for Donald Trump.
But then he withdrew military support.
Afghanistan trusted Donald Trump.
But then Trump negotiated directly with the Taliban and negotiated a withdrawal without meaningfully involving the Afghan government.
Saudi Arabia gave up a fair amount for Donald Trump. They supplied an awful lot of U.S. military bases.
But now, when the United States attacked Iran, prompting Iran and the Houthis to attack Saudi Arabia, Trump couldn’t be bothered to provide military support to the Saudis.
NATO trusted the United States.
You know the drill.
And I’m tired.
Sane folks are nodding their heads in agreement with everything I’ve written.
But Trump supporters violently disagree with me.
Why? Because they trust Donald Trump.
Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.
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