Sometimes politicians give an honest, direct, brief and enlightening answer to a question. This tends to make news.
Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young did that last week when he said he would not support former President Donald Trump for his party’s presidential nomination. As Young’s party in trancelike lockstep backs a twice-impeached former president who cheered on an insurrection, who was ordered this month to pay a $5 million fine in a sexual abuse case, and who is running for president while running from subpoenas, Indiana’s senior senator has had a strong whiff of smelling salts.
When a CNN reporter asked him, “and what was the reason for you not supporting him?” an exasperated Young simply said, “Where do I begin?” Seldom have four words said so much.
For Young, the last straw was Trump’s reluctance to label Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Trump did so just a couple of days earlier in his lie-packed “town hall,” also hosted by CNN. The program was an exercise in journalistic malpractice and a national insult because it took place before a live studio audience rigged with adoring Trump fans only.
Rational people understand that Putin is a war criminal. His savage crimes and those of the military under his command are well documented. Putin launched a brutal, unprovoked war against the sovereign nation of Ukraine, which he prefers exist only if absorbed into his twisted, despotic vision of a greater “Mother Russia.” As an author of atrocities, Putin must account for his deeds if international law means anything.
Young understands this, but he also understands that Trump is aiding and abetting a war criminal. “I think President Trump’s judgment is wrong in this case,” Young said. “President Putin and his government have engaged in war crimes. I don’t believe that’s disputed.”
Yet dispute is Trump’s brand. Elections are disputed. Longstanding global alliances are disputed. Democratic norms are disputed. The rule of law is disputed. Support for an invaded Ukraine is disputed. Where do we begin, indeed.
It’s refreshing that Young isn’t alone in saying he’s through with Trump. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is among those considering a Republican presidential bid, has done likewise. He called Trump a “puppet of Putin” after Trump’s CNN appearance.
We know Young is earnest in what he is saying about Trump. Young is a Marine veteran who takes international security and global order seriously. But he also is a Republican who knows how to win elections — he’s won far more than Trump — and he had these blunt observations about that:
“You want a nominee to win the general election. As President Trump says, I prefer winners. He just consistently loses. In fact, he has a habit of losing not just his own elections, but losing elections for others. … I don’t think conservatives would be well-served by electing someone whose core competency seems to be owning someone on Twitter.
“… Republicans are in a winning mood. We want to win. We know he’s the shortest path to losing.”
Young has delivered a wakeup call that Republicans ignore at their own peril. Their party’s fortunes may well rest on whether they choose to answer it and shatter the ruinous spell of Trumpism.
