Why such ire at Sullivan for supporting Trump?

President Donald Trump is joined by Alaska’s congressional delegation for a signing ceremony in the Oval Office. (Official photo from The White House)

By Murray Walsh

I see that Rich Moniak has moved to the Juneau Independent to continue his campaign to besmirch the character of Sen. Dan Sullivan. Recently, Moniak quoted Sullivan as saying he would criticize President Trump in public if he felt the need. Moniak then offered a list of criticisms that Sullivan should have offered. It is really a list of things Moniak himself would have said if he had the platform that Sullivan has. 

Moniak believes that no one should miss an opportunity to “beat up” on Trump, but that is Moniak’s mindset, not Sullivan’s and not mine.

Moniak believes his low opinion of Trump is widely shared and that this can be weaponized against Sullivan.  Now, I do not love Trump, but I do not hate him either. There is a vast middle ground of emotional opinion to occupy. Sen. Sullivan is a solid practical political operator who uses his position and connections to do good things for Alaska and the country. The point to make here is that he sets his feelings aside to do his job. He might cringe at some of the things Trump says or the way he says them. I know I do. But if public criticism will do no good, why do it?

Moniak gives an example of a Navy admiral that Sullivan defended at a confirmation hearing — during the Biden administration — and then allegedly said nothing when Pete Hegseth fired her a year ago. Moniak says Sullivan should have complained about it. I know nothing more about the matter. Maybe Sullivan did try to intervene on behalf of this woman at the time and found that he could not affect the outcome. Whatever the case, the deed was done and no good would come of publicly complaining about it.

Sullivan wants to do business with the president and must maintain a cordial relationship to do so.  Moniak’s desires are different.  His seventh paragraph says:

“…Sullivan blew a golden opportunity to publicly chastise Trump for his irresponsible justification to the killing of Renee Good last month.”

Why should Sullivan seek an opportunity, golden or any other color, to chastise Trump? This desire for chastisement is Moniak’s. He assumes that nearly everyone shares the same desire and maybe even considers it an obligation. Moniak is trying to make criticism of Trump an obligation so he can call the senator a coward for not doing so.

I do not understand why Moniak and so many others hate Trump so much. I have been observing American politics for a long time, and I can say with some certainty that the hatred directed at Trump dwarfs anything like the bad feelings expressed about any other public figure. I said above that I don’t love Trump. I dislike the way he expresses himself most of the time. However, I agree with, or am awaiting the result of, many of the things Trump has done.

Trump haters appear to believe that his coarse and oafish manner of expression is evidence of a truly foul character and a lust for dictatorship-level power over the world around him. Why else would someone run for the presidency, but for a lust for power? Well, there are plenty of other reasons. I believe most previous presidents did run because they thought they could lead the country, and the world to good things.

Trump is not in this for power. He knows that the presidency is fleeting and that no occupant of the Oval Office will hold power indefinitely. I believe Trump seeks fame, celebrity, renown, legend and recognition. Is it bad to seek fame? People in the entertainment business would say no, of course not. I expect Amish farmers would say yes, it is bad. 

Putting the Trump name on everything in sight reminds me of an interview that Barbara Walters did in the ’90s at Trump Tower. He was showing her around the place, and she spotted a glass-topped table that had about 20 magazine covers with Trump’s face on them. All Trump wants is to be deemed the best president ever. A modest ambition compared to that of Putin, Hitler and the Ayatollahs.

• Murray Walsh is a past District 4 chair for Capital City Republicans and a retired land use consultant who has resided in Juneau for 50 years.