Donald Trump: A Risk Worth Taking

Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday to discuss Donald Trump’s debate preparation a day before the big showdown at Hofstra University. Before getting into the specifics of Trump’s prep work, however, Flynn gave host Chuck Todd a profound answer to a pertinent question on the minds of many voters.

Todd asked Flynn if the American public should be concerned to see so many national security experts come out against Trump, including some who worked in Republican administrations.

“There are hundreds of people that have said just the opposite,” Flynn noted. Of the detractors, he said, “A lot of those names on those lists, some of the things that they say offer no solutions and these are people that represent the past. They represent so many of the failed policies and the stupid decisions that were made that have kept us in this perpetual conflict in the Middle East. I mean, God, we have to cherish our military and our veterans, but I’m going to tell you that the decisions that put us there – many of those people that are on those lists are the ones that actually put us there.”

This is the perfect response to a concern that many reasonable Republican voters have. It is undeniably unsettling to see former generals and CIA experts and NSA insiders proclaim Trump unfit to be commander-in-chief. And Trump doesn’t do himself any favors when he brags about knowing more about ISIS than the generals. No one believes that, including Donald Trump.

But here’s why we should pull the lever for Trump without hesitation.

One, Trump isn’t as privately arrogant as his showman persona would lead you to believe. He knows he cannot craft America’s foreign policy without significant help. He will have that help when he steps into the situation room.

Two, Trump is a game changer. Perhaps the first true game changing politician of the last thirty years. Americans are hungry for that change. This isn’t 2001. There is no more appetite for first-strike wars and foreign occupation. We don’t need to see today’s allies turn into tomorrow’s enemies again.

And of course, it’s not just about the military. It’s about domestic security, law enforcement, the economy, immigration, American culture, and much more. Trump is certainly more conservative than not, but he’s not Ronald Reagan 2.0. He’s not Rush Limbaugh. He’s not William F. Buckley. He’s Donald Trump, and he’s not afraid to look at years of government incompetence – on both sides of the aisle – and call it what it is. It’s only natural that the architects of the status quo would take his attack on the establishment as a personal insult.

Let’s be really honest. There’s a chance…small, large, you be the judge…that Trump, if elected, will be the worst president of all time. Most of his supporters have been honest about that from the start. Trump is by no means the “safe” choice.

Terrible things can happen when you take a big risk.

But if you really want to create something wonderful, risk is essential.

And if you understand where the Democratic Party is taking this country, you’ll see that in this case, there is no “safe” choice. The Obama/Clinton agenda will lead the United States to disaster, both here at home and internationally. Maybe the golden beacon of salvation that Trump offers is a mirage. But the darkness that Hillary Clinton represents is the real thing.