John Brennan slammed Trump for his totalitarian fantasy of "blind loyalty and subservience" from everyone around him.
Foreign relations have been in a tailspin since Donald Trump upended decades of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and declared America would recognize Jerusalem solely as the capital of Israel.
On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly voted decisively to condemn Trump and the United States for the Jerusalem decision, by a vote of 128 to 9 — a total humiliation.
Trump’s U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley not only refused to listen to any of our allies as they pleaded with us to stop disrupting Mideast negotiations — she immediately disgraced America further by threatening virtually every other country in the world. Haley said Trump may cut off funding for the U.N., declaring that America is being “asked to pay for the privilege of being disrespected.”
Many onlookers were horrified by these events, but perhaps none more so than former CIA Director John Brennan.
In a statement on Twitter, Brennan tore into Trump, comparing his behavior to that of “narcissistic, vengeful autocrats.”
Trump Admin threat to retaliate against nations that exercise sovereign right in UN to oppose US position on Jerusalem is beyond outrageous. Shows @realDonaldTrump expects blind loyalty and subservience from everyone—qualities usually found in narcissistic, vengeful autocrats.
— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) December 21, 2017
Brennan, as the former head of an agency where coordinating with foreign intelligence is critical, understands that America needs to operate within the bounds of international law and consensus.
Haley’s threats against the U.N. are characteristic of the Trump administration's approach to foreign affairs — one that relies on intimidating other nations, including close allies. Trump has previously demanded that members of NATO give him money, and he pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement based on a false notion that other countries were ripping us off.
But chillingly, Republican lawmakers are already starting to sycophantically echo the administration’s anti-U.N. stance, with Sen. Marco Rubio calling the U.N. a “forum for anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism” and demanding “reevaluation” of U.S. support for the world governing body.
Rather than blindly lining up behind Trump, those lawmakers should heed Brennan's warning and hold the administration accountable for its rhetoric — before Trump's fantasies of totalitarianism come home to roost.
