Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, a Republican who served within the administration of Democratic President Bill Clinton, advised CNN Thursday that Donald Trump is a shameful manipulator who will proceed to regulate the GOP behind the scenes even after he leaves the Oval Office.
“The current occupant of the White House is a ringmaster, and what he expects to do is to snap his whip, and all of the elephants jump on the chairs,” Cohen mentioned, calling out fellow Republicans who’re sycophantic towards Trump. They embrace Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who introduced Wednesday that he’ll object to the Electoral College certification of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 6.
Cohen has beforehand mentioned that Trump’s administration was main the U.S. down a path towards dictatorship. He mentioned Thursday that those that insist on appeasing Trump want to grasp that the forty fifth president will “continue to snap the whip whether he’s in office or out of office.”
“And every time they’re going to have to jump up and sit on that stool in order to satisfy him and his supporters,” Cohen mentioned.
Asked about Trump’s need to keep up management of the social gathering — which might break from the custom of earlier one-term presidents — Cohen mentioned that Trump has a “pathological” need for energy, and people who insist on supporting him are “diabolical.”
The former protection secretary additionally argued that there’s a main division within the Republican Party between those that maintain allegiance towards Trump and centrists equivalent to Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah). Romney has argued in current weeks that Trump’s voter conspiracy theories have broken America’s worldwide picture.
“Maybe it’s time for a new party,” Cohen mentioned. “One that abides by the rule of law, abides by balanced budget opportunities, fiscal responsibility, but also faithful to the people of this country who vote to elect them.”
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