Trump’s Team of Rivals Shows that Americans are Sick of Endless War
Demri Scott Greggo
Recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign for President and made the shocking announcement that he is throwing his support behind President Donald Trump.
One of the reasons why Kennedy decided to endorse President Trump? Kennedy said Trump’s stance on ending the war in Ukraine "alone would justify [his support].”
The decision is significant, and not just for the obvious reason that a Kennedy Democrat endorsed a Republican for President. His announcement demonstrates that Americans of all political backgrounds are sick of endless war, regardless of political affiliation.
Americans are still horrified by the 20-year war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of U.S. forces that occurred only a few years ago, and do not want to be involved in another endless war in Ukraine.
Americans have not forgotten the terror attack that occurred at Abbey Gate that tragically killed 13 brave U.S. servicemen and women. They have not forgotten the harrowing images of Afghans falling from planes after clinging to the planes to escape. Americans haven’t forgotten that the sensitive U.S. military equipment that the Biden administration left in Afghanistan is now in the hands of the Taliban. They haven’t forgotten the veterans who now live with PTSD, or cancer due to exposure to burn pits. And now, the war on terror era veterans, who saw their colleagues’ lives ripped away from them now have to grapple with the question about their time in Afghanistan: “was all of this worth it?”
Foreign policy elitists will try to gaslight Americans by arguing that those two wars are different, and that Americans shouldn’t conclude that Ukraine will be the next Afghanistan.
Yes, Ukraine and Afghanistan are two vastly different conflicts and the U.S. support provided in both conflicts vastly differ. But how different will the war in Afghanistan be from the war in Ukraine if American leaders never learn their lesson about war termination?
Unfortunately the war in Ukraine is groundhog day all over again. Like the many years of war in Afghanistan, neither the Biden administration nor the Ukrainian government have outlined the conditions that must be met to end the fighting and the spigot of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine. Billions of dollars continue to funnel into Ukraine to fund a war on the other side of the globe, a slap in the face to Americans who are struggling to make ends meet due to inflation. While President Biden has expressed that the United States will stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” the recent announcement by Kennedy shows that it is no longer popular nor politically viable to support such a position.
Fortunately, Kennedy joining forces with President Trump is part of a broader coalition that seems to be growing. Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, a prominent foreign policy realist, a Democrat, and critic of forever wars also endorsed President Trump, a clue that she may also have his ear on foreign policy issues too.
Foreign policy realists should see Trump’s new “team of rivals” as a welcome development, because it shows that he seems to have learned a key lesson from his first administration: that he should surround himself with advisors that will end wars not start them.
During President Trump’s first administration, Trump made a mistake by tapping advisors that were openly adversarial to his agenda on war. Despite repeatedly expressing that he wanted to end the endless wars in the Middle East, neo-conservative and warmonger John Bolton was tapped to be Trump’s National Security Advisor.
Some foreign policy realists have hesitated to join forces with Trump. But, foreign policy realists shouldn’t allow perfect to be the enemy of good enough. President Trump needs good advice from foreign policy realists who share his view on war, so that he can prevent future loss of precious blood and treasure if he is elected President for a second time. It is better to have influence with someone with whom you disagree on many issues and agree on some, so that you have an opportunity to shape those issues in which you disagree.
Simply put, now is not the time to be sitting on the sidelines. Especially when the alternative is Trump tapping people as adversarial to foreign policy realism as John Bolton.
Washington elitists may be surprised that former Democrats like Kennedy and Gabbard are flocking to Trump, but the left-right coalition that Trump is building on the issue of war demonstrates what a lot of Americans view as obvious — that leaders in Washington must end endless wars.
Demri Scott Greggo previously worked for U.S. Senator Rand Paul from 2019–2022 and was his Military Legislative Assistant. In her previous position, Greggo served as a personal representative for Senator Paul on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and had a large portfolio of national security issues. Additionally, Greggo was a defense contractor and holds an M.A. in Defense and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. She also has a B.A. in Political Science and International Affairs from the George Washington University.
Americans are tired of the endless funding of wars of no purpose but to be an endless cash cow of expending American tax dollars. We have nothing but dead and wounded soldiers and a mountain of debt. What country on this planet will step up and save us from our political stupidity? Surely none that continually take US handouts.
What are they going to do to bring the endless domestic Lawfare to an end, to ensure there is a fair election, to prevent endless Lawfare against the transition after the election? Is there a plan for that, moreover one that might succeed? Or is a second Trump presidency going to be an endless debacle with the Swamp hobbling him and his team every step of the way? When are you guys going to go on offence instead of playing endless ineffective defence?