Hillary Clinton on Trump’s “dumb power”
By Patrick Healy
Deputy Opinion Editor
As a reporter who covered both of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns, I noticed at times that she presented herself not as someone who had all the answers to America’s problems (as Donald Trump did), but rather as someone who believed in doing the work to come up with answers in the first place. It was not glamorous work, but it led to ideas, such as how to use “smart power” as secretary of state, a job in which she earned some of the highest public approval ratings of her career.
This morning, we are publishing a guest essay by Clinton arguing that the Signal group chat debacle was just one example of what amounts to the opposite of “smart power” — she calls it “dumb power” — and that indeed, the administration’s irresponsible approach to national security, like its approach to foreign policy and cost-cutting, are defined by stupidity.
Clinton is no neutral observer of Trump, of course. But as I edited her essay, I thought about all the Republicans who told me over the years how impressed they were with her performance as secretary of state during President Obama’s first term. Some Republicans said they admired how she carried herself with dignity after losing to Obama and then represented him and America on the world stage, and others thought she was tougher on Vladimir Putin and other adversaries than many other leaders in both parties.
In her essay, Clinton examines a series of actions by the Trump administration that led to her judgment about dumb power. She concludes with this warning:
“Maybe President Trump wants to return to 19th-century spheres of influence. Maybe he’s just driven by personal grudges and is in way over his head. As a businessman, he bankrupted his Atlantic City casinos. Now he’s gambling with the national security of the United States. If this continues, a group chat foul will be the least of our concerns, and all the fist and flag emojis in the world won’t save us.”
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