Does the GOP Care That Trump Doubled Down on Taking Foreign Dirt?
If the president won’t dismiss the notion of accepting foreign intel in 2020, Republicans need to take a stand
When the founders of the Constitution huddled together to create the democratic framework for a still-nascent America, they butted heads on a number of matters: slavery, religious freedom, the role of voters, the power of the presidency. But there was one area where they reached consensus. Absolutely, under no circumstances, should foreign powers be granted any influence over an election.
“Foreign powers… will not be idle spectators,” warned Alexander Hamilton. “They will interpose, the confusion will increase, and a dissolution of the Union will ensue.” James Madison, in arguing for Congress to hold the power of impeachment, feared that a president “might betray his trust to foreign powers.” George Washington argued that “foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.”
This was absolutely a top concern of the founders, and they embedded safeguards into the Constitution to limit such problems. But Donald Trump’s recent comments to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, where he said he would probably accept foreign intel on his political rivals, show the limits of those safeguards —…
