GORDON SONDLAND: I was wrong about Trump, and Democrats can't stand it

Things could get worse for America after January 6th, and they did. I served in the Trump administration, but after that dark day I withdrew my support for the president. Four years later I'm back. And here's why. The Biden-Harris administration has weakened our power, our purse strings, and our values. After living under this reality for nearly four years, there is no choice: We need former President Donald J. Trump back in the White House.

I have explained my change of heart on national media from MSNBC to CNN to NPR. But instead of reflecting on the substance of my argument, most journalists are outraged by my decision that supporting Republican policies is more important than punishing a former president they detest. If Vice President Kamala Harris can “change her mind” about easing border controls, why can’t someone on the other side of the aisle change their view?

I cannot excuse January 6 or the former president's lackluster response to that dark day. But our system remained in place, the uprising was crushed and the transfer of power was carried out.

Skeptics wonder whether there is an insidious reason behind my stance today.

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They ask: Did he offer me a job? No. Was he blackmailing me? No. Do you think he won the 2020 election? No unfortunately). Have you lost your moral compass? No. In fact, my moral compass points due north, toward what is best for our country.

As the 20th US Ambassador to the European Union, I know Trump and have worked closely with him. He is a showman who likes to shock. That's obvious. What is perhaps less obvious is that he is also a quick and prudent decision maker. He doesn't rush and, like his opponent, doesn't need a script to stay on track. And unlike the other side, Trump is about promoting our country's meritocracy, not mediocrity. He believes that competition, not socialism, is best for our society.

Harris represents a party that disagrees with this perspective. In fact, Democrats are waging a strategic attack on our two-party democratic system and pushing policies that further undermine America's prestige, wallets and families. Harris has vowed to pack the Supreme Court, abolish the filibuster, dramatically loosen voter regulations and give unelected government employees the power to decide what cars we drive and what stoves we cook on. She wants to monitor what our children learn and how we speak. She says she would do nothing different than President Joe Biden. This is disturbing at best.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Throwback Brewery in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on September 4. (Kylie Cooper for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

That means Harris agrees that it was wise to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan before civilians. I guess she's too young to remember Saigon, or she wasn't touched when desperate innocents fell to their deaths from a US plane fleeing Kabul. That means she believes Biden was right when he said Washington wouldn't respond if Moscow made even a “minor incursion” into Ukraine. Talk about giving dictators the green light.

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While Trump flatters the bad guys in public, a counterintuitive and strategic tactic, no world leader doubts his resolve for America. We need this kind of leadership on the international stage because, thanks to Biden and Harris's disastrous foreign policies, allies and adversaries alike are doubting America's beliefs and unsure of our positions. This would be problematic in any era, but particularly worrying in the shadow of a rising China and an expansive Russia.

Former President Trump waves goodbye after a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

At home, Harris turns a blind eye to foreign influences that cause our students to hate America. She never addresses the similarities with radicalized Iranian students who installed a fundamentalist government in Tehran that chants “Death to America” and supports 13 terrorist groups, including Hamas.

Harris says she “understands the emotions” that drive college students who wear keffiyeh and call for the extermination of Jews. Would Harris be so confident if black people were targeted in the same way Jews were targeted? While I doubt that Harris is truly anti-Semitic or wants to see the destruction of the State of Israel, her actions do not befit that of a strong supporter of Israel or an ally. Their pursuit of votes (particularly among Arab Americans in Michigan) has brought them dangerously close to Hamas' agenda.

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Harris' economic stance is equally appalling. She cares more about handing out handouts to illegal immigrants than supporting people like my parents, Holocaust survivors who immigrated legally to the United States and opened dry cleaners there for decades.

She believes race should be a qualification for jobs and benefits. Additionally, Harris is part of the administration that used COVID-19 as an excuse to unnecessarily pump an additional $2 trillion into the economy, creating inflation and essentially buying votes.

Despite the White House's denials, anyone who shops for groceries knows that the cost of living has skyrocketed. Not just among poor people, but among everyone. A friend, a divorced mother with a college degree and an enviable white-collar job, gives up meat herself to buy a protein-rich steak for her teenage son. This is not the America our families need or want.

Of course, the Democratic Party rejects the importance of family. Harris reflects this demise. She supports old-fashioned entitlement programs and tax laws that encourage men to leave their families. It opposes religious groups that want to bring business practices into line with their morals. She encourages immature young people to try gender-affirming treatments that cannot be reversed in adulthood.

She regularly supports teachers unions that advance an anti-student and anti-worker political agenda. In a Harris world, teachers who are not allowed to give aspirin without parental consent will be punished for telling parents that their child is changing gender.

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Taken together, Harris' agenda and her approach to the Democratic base are an order of magnitude more frightening than Trump's agenda or behavior. This is not a conspiracy theory or scaremongering.

That's why, despite all his idiosyncrasies and his inflammatory style, he is the best option for America. His politics are right. The team will be great. And when given the choice, there is no other choice.

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