OPINION:
Sebastian Gorka’s resignation letter to President Donald Trump, printed in full by Breitbart, was a blunt call for a White House return to the Make America Great Again principles that ushered in this administration in the first place.
And forefront of Gorka’s concerns was the one that should be similarly forefront to Americans’ concerns: that Trump not go the Barack Obama route when it comes to referencing acts of Islamic terror.
“Regrettably, outside of yourself, the individuals who most embodied and represented the policies that will ’Make America Great Again’ have been internally countered, systematically removed, or undermined in recent months,” Gorka wrote. “This was made patently obvious as I read the text of your speech on Afghanistan … The fact that those who drafted and approved the speech removed any mention of ’radical Islam’ or ’radical Islamic terrorism’ proves that a crucial element of your presidential campaign has been lost.”
Quite right.
Campaign Trump was the guy who stood tall and strong in the face of eight years of Obama-style kowtowing to radical Islamic forces — and who boldly proclaimed the one phrase the previous administration chose to ignore when speaking of acts of terror: Islamic terrorists. Campaign Trump was the guy who soundly and roundly and correctly mocked and chastised the Obama administration for refusing to call out most of the world’s terror for what it was — Islamic based.
Campaign Trump was the guy who vowed to wipe out ISIS — the most brutal of all radical Islamic brutes — and to do so with speed and swift military mission.
Campaign Trump was the guy who, in August of 2016, delivered a fiery speech devoted entirely to the idea of facing down the “evil” of terrorism — a terrorism he defined as “the hateful ideology of radical Islam.”
Some of his choice phrases?
“We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism,” he said then. “We will not defeat it with closed eyes or silenced voices. Anyone who cannot name our enemy … anyone who cannot condemn the hatred, oppression and violence of radical Islam, lacks the moral clarity to serve as our president.”
And this: “To defeat Islamic terrorism, we must also speak out forcefully against a hateful ideology that provides the breeding ground for violence.”
And this: “One of my first acts as president will be to establish a commission on radical Islam.”
Where is that guy?
Here’s why Americans should care: If you can’t name your enemy, you can’t win against your enemy. Campaign Trump knew that — and spoke forcefully and candidly on that very matter. But President Trump seems to be forgetting that principle. And insofar as the fate of America’s security, that’s not a comforting scenario.
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