Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (US Army, retired) voiced his frustration on Friday that former President Donald Trump is undermining national security by publicly asking Vladimir Putin to interfere in America's politics to harm the Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, Trump begged Putin to release dirt on President Joe Biden.
MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace asked Vindman about a tweet he sent in response where he referred to the former president as a "traitor."
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"I want to focus on the openly conspiring with the enemy part of it," Wallace said. "Are you surprised that even Republicans who can be critical of Donald Trump — and there are about four of them, I'm thinking Mitt Romney — didn't really call this out for what it is, and it was seeking to do it a special joint operation with Vladimir Putin of the political type in the middle of a war."
"What are your concerns, not just about what Trump did, but of the sort of crickets that ensued?" Wallace asked.
"Well, I think, unfortunately, that's not surprising. He's tamed this Republican Party, he's got them under firm control," Vindman replied. "To me, a part of that is this -- the president is still plugged in. He still has access to classified information, and that should be under great scrutiny, because he is completely callous with his words and with his deeds."
"People are tired of hearing, you know, the same old lines from Donald Trump. I think that's why you see nobody showing up to his rallies anymore. They're tired of hearing about stolen elections in 2020 — all these lies," he explained.
"But he still is kind of looking for opportunities to lash out and those are harmful to U.S. national security interests and that's really the part that just gets me," Vindman said. "If there was a way to muzzle him, to prevent him from doing harm, that would be optimal. Of course, we don't live in that kind of society, nor should we wish that kind of thing, but I mean, sometimes, I do. He's a hazard, not just to himself, but he's a hazard to this country."
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