Will Saletan describes how the GOP is not only a Trump party but is now fully isolationist. Saletan writes for The Bulwark, which is a Never Trumper site with some of the best political writing on the web. Trump’s friendship with Putin must frighten our European allies. Trump’s return will destabilize Europe and leave our allies to Putin’s tender mercies.
He writes:
THE OPENING NIGHT OF THE 2024 Republican National Convention sent a clear signal: The balance of power within the GOP has shifted. This is now an isolationist party. And if Republicans win this year’s presidential election, the first victim of this retreat from the world will be Ukraine.
The party’s base was already moving in this direction. In recent polls, most Republicans—unlike most Democrats and independents—have consistently said that the United States is giving too much support to Ukraine. The gap between the parties is enormous, with Republicans about 40 points less supportive than Democrats.
A few hours before the primetime speeches began on Monday, Donald Trump announced his running mate: Senator J.D. Vance. Trump is already well known as a Putin sympathizer and opponent of aid to Ukraine; his selection of Vance reinforces that disposition. Vance was by far the most anti-Ukraine candidate on Trump’s vice-presidential short list. As a senator, he has fought against aid to Ukraine and has made clear that he isn’t particularly interested in defending Europe. Two years ago, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Vance shrugged, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”
The convention’s organizers gave a coveted evening speaking slot to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ukraine’s fiercest opponent in the House. Greene doesn’t just oppose aid to Ukraine; she also parrots Russian smears against its government. In her prepared remarks, Greene denounced “globalists” and protested that “the Democrats spent over $175 billion of your tax dollars to secure Ukraine’s borders.” The delegates—not waiting for her next line, about how the money wasn’t being spent on a wall to seal the Mexican border—immediately began to boo.
In his own primetime address, tech investor and CEO David Sacks went further. He blamed President Biden for Russia’s invasion.
He provoked—yes, provoked—the Russians to invade Ukraine with talk of NATO expansion. Afterward, he rejected every opportunity for peace in Ukraine, including a deal to end the war just two months after it broke out. . . .
Hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars have gone up in smoke. President Biden sold us this new forever war by promising it would weaken Russia and strengthen America. Well, how does that look today? Russia’s military is bigger than before, while our own stockpiles are dangerously depleted. Every day, there are new calls for escalation, and the world looks on in horror as Joe Biden’s demented policy takes us to the brink of World War III.
This speech—presumably cleared for delivery by the convention’s organizers—explicitly shifted blame from Putin to America. In effect, it excused Putin by faulting Biden for every stage of the crisis: for causing the invasion, for risking escalation, and for failing to agree to Putin’s conditions for ending the war. It’s particularly rich that Sacks said we should give up on Ukraine because our military stockpiles are depleted—after Trump, Vance, Greene, and other Republicans opposed Ukraine-aid legislation to replenish those stockpiles.
Sacks also boasted that Trump, unlike Biden, would be
a president who understands that you build the most powerful military in the world to keep America safe, not to play the world’s policeman; a president who is willing to talk to adversaries as well as friends, because that is the only way to make peace; a president who will stand up to the warmongers instead of empowering them.
“A president who is willing to talk to adversaries” was an obvious allusion to Putin. He’s the only U.S. adversary—particularly in a context where peace might have to be discussed—with whom Trump, unlike Biden, is known to be friendly.
Half an hour after that speech, Trump arrived at the convention. As the crowd cheered, he stood in a row of VIPs in front of his family. To Trump’s left stood Vance. To his right stood Rep. Byron Donalds, a consistent opponent of aid to Ukraine. And next to Donalds, basking in Trump’s glow and the delegates’ adoration, stood the most avidly pro-Putin, anti-Ukraine propagandist in right-wing media: Tucker Carlson.
This is the Republican party in 2024. Two years after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, as Russia continues to kill civilians, seize land, and threaten Europe, the GOP has opened its convention with an emphatic message. To American isolationists—and to the Kremlin—the signal is: We are your party.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It is difficult to differentiate isolationism from fascism, since both assume self interest as the only arbiter of morality. Unfortunately, reality dictates that self-interest alone deepens hostility.
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Fascist Germany wasn’t isolationist. Fascist Italy wasn’t isolationist. Fascist Spain was isolationist. In part, that’s why during WWII the U.S. went to war against Germany and Italy but not Spain. WWII was a war fought by imperialist nations over resources and markets. Today, the U.S. is an empire, very imperialistic, and seeks to control resources and markets around the world. Because Russia remains outside the control of the U.S.-led western empire, anti-Russia propaganda proliferates.
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James,
I think you will be very happy with Trump-Vance. They are isolationist; they want to be friends with Putin and Kim.
So what if they enact a national ban on abortion, privatize public education, cut Social Security and Medicare, eliminate the Civil Service, use the Justice Department to lock up Biden, Harris, Hillary, and Obama. That’s what power is for. Of course, withdraw from NATO.
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I will vote for neither Trump nor Biden. I don’t accept the either/or logical fallacy pushed by supporters of either corporate-sponsored political parties. I will vote third party, if at all.
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It’s not fallacious to make one’s vote count. Choosing to throw a vote away, well, . . .
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There’s no such thing as a wasted vote. As Eugene Debs said, “I’d rather vote for what I want and not get it than vote for what I don’t want and get it.” If third party efforts weren’t important, Republicans and Democrats wouldn’t spend soooooo much time, effort, and money quashing those efforts. In 2024 alone, how many millions of dollars has the Democratic Party spent in an effort to keep third party candidates off of ballots?
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Well, enjoy your Galapagos, James. I admit that I admire the tenacity.
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“As Eugene Debs said, “I’d rather vote for what I want and not get it than vote for what I don’t want and get it.”
But Eugene Debs WANTED democracy.
Eugene Debs WANTED unions.
It’s mystifying that you believe that Eugene Debs would not have cared about the fascists taking over because you seem to think Debs did not want democracy.
Do you think Eugene Debs would be sad because voting for a Democrat would “only” give him a flawed democracy, and he believes if he doesn’t get everything he wants, he would rather live in an authoritarian country where the people who want what he wants would have no chance of getting it AND would be suffering tremendously and silenced?
Not wanting things to be 100x worse IS getting what you want.
You make it seem as if Eugene Debs would not choose the option to stop Hitler’s massacre because the option to stop Hitler’s massacres only kept a flawed democracy where he and the people who want what he wants can live to fight another day. You think Debs does not “want” to prevent a Christian right neo-fascist America that serves the oligarchs.
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James: I pointed out that isolationism is built on self interest being the only arbiter of morality. The aggressive nature of Italy and Germany are directly attributable to this attitude. It can hardly be described as internationalist because it is aggressive.
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But if we use the GOP logic, if they should happen to win the election (Heaven forbid!), perhaps VP Harris “will do the ‘right’ thing” and refuse to certify the election…
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“. . . perhaps VP Harris “will do the ‘right’ thing” and refuse to certify the election…”
Good one!
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The Republican Presidents from Eisenhower through Bush Senior must be spinning in their graves now.
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Wow! Thought you were extinct! Like the internationalist Republicans.
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Exactly so, Ivory Bill.
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Typically, eminent party members are honored guests at the convention. No former President George W. Bush, no Dick Cheney.
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Only the Trumpanzee cult. It’s a purge.
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With all the depressing news, just wanted to point out that there’s still hope this country can unite (as per a random twitter feed):
wow! @IngridAndress actually did it, she united America #HRDerby
(If you haven’t watched her unique version of the Star Spangled Banner, well, you aren’t missing anything.)
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^^^darn, I should remember to google immediately before I post. Apparently a couple hours ago she said she was drunk and checking into rehab. So I am sorry I joined in making fun of her. Her rendition did result in near universal agreement, but it’s very sad that her addiction exposed her so publicly.
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Sounds like something cooked up by a public relations team. Being in rehab is far less damaging to a pop singer’s career than being unable to sing well.
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When Putin asks the United States to return Alaska, what will they say?
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Nothing but lies. Vote Blue.
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true that
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