Politico asks in a story whether Donald J. Trump will flunk the commander in chief test.
Republican Party brass is terrified, Politico reports, of Trump getting nominated and then having to answer difficult questions regarding national security.
Trump already has failed that test, in my oh-so-humble view.
In spades.
Time and again on the campaign trail, Trump has exhibited a shocking ignorance of such things as the “nuclear triad,” which is the nation’s three-pronged nuclear weapons system involving land-based missiles, submarine-based missiles and bombs dropped from aircraft.
He cannot articulate with anything approaching precision how he intends to solve the myriad defense-related issues. His answer to illegal immigration is to “build a wall” and “make Mexico pay for it.”
He praises leaders such as Russian leader Vladimir Putin and — get this — North Korean despot/maniac Kim Jong Un for their “leadership” skills.
But I keep coming back to the wackiness of this campaign.
It has produced surprise upon surprise all along the way.
Trump has been criticized by leading conservatives for not understanding the details of foreign and military policy. Never mind what progressives are saying about him; it goes without saying that they would be highly critical of the real estate mogul/reality TV personality.
Before you get all twisted up, I’m also well aware of those who believe the current president has failed the commander in chief test — while he’s been on the job. I simply do not share that criticism.
I totally get that one man’s buffoon is another man’s statesman.
You know where Trump fits in that equation as far as I’m concerned.
But as you’ve said, Obama is not on the ballot. The person most likely to face Trump has already taken that 3 a.m. phone call and failed the commander-in-chief test in, shall-we-say, blockbuster fashion. When we come under attack, we know for sure that candidate would still be fiddling 13 hours later.