Mark Esper served as Secretary of Defense under Donald Trump from 2019 to November 7, 2020, two days after that year’s presidential election. After Esper strongly criticized Trump for insisting the election was stolen, Trump replied, via tweet, that Esper had been terminated.

If Trump’s motives for firing Esper had to do with anything other than vindictiveness, I’d like someone to please explain. Terminating his defense secretary two days into the lame duck phase of his term was one of numerous highly erratic actions Trump took after learning that Joe Biden was declared the winner by 7 million votes and, more significantly, 74 electoral votes. I am consistently on record criticizing Trump for plenty from Election Day 2020 up to his refusal to attend Biden’s inauguration the following January. However, unlike many others, I don’t believe Trump is a threat to our democracy, and neither does Esper – even though he says he does.

Esper recently appeared on political comedian Bill Maher’s show Real Time, where he reaffirmed his supposed belief that Trump’s a threat to our democracy. Maher – who’s so opposed to Trump that he’d rather have Sarah Palin in office – pressed Esper: “so are you voting for Biden?” Here’s where Esper’s disingenuousness became evident: “I’m not there yet,” he replied.

Maher very logically argued that if Esper believes Trump’s a threat to our democracy and that Biden’s the only person left who can beat him (inferring that independent and third party candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein, and Cornel West don’t stand a chance), then how on Earth can he do anything other than vote for Biden? Great question. For instance, If I believed that Trump is really a threat to democracy, I’d vote for Biden too. Because Biden on his worst day – and there are a lot from which to choose – is still a better alternative to a strongman who’d dispose of our Constitution and declare himself king, or emperor.
Oh, it’s not that I think life in a Trump kingdom wouldn’t be better than in a Biden-run republic, but monarchies and empires are very hit-or-miss (imagine if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became queen?).
The reason I’m convinced that Trump’s not going to dismantle democracy is because he couldn’t even if he wanted to. No one – not Trump, or anyone else – can tear down our system of government. It’s too strong, too resilient. Ultimately, common sense prevails.
What if German Chancellor Olaf Sholz makes fun of Trump’s hair and Trump decides to drop nukes on Germany in return? Or if Biden develops severe dementia and thinks Sholz is really Hitler and we’re still fighting World War II? Does anyone really think the generals would follow either president’s orders in that situation? Or an order to march into the Capitol and arrest and imprison the members of Congress and replace them with three governing ministers: Don, Ivanka, and Eric Trump, all of whom would be in line to succeed their dad as dictator one day?
Esper told Maher that he’s “definitely not voting for Trump” but that he really can’t see himself voting for Biden either. That makes sense given Esper’s Reaganesque ideology regarding American foreign policy; namely, that we should strengthen NATO and refuse to allow Russia and China to expand. In that respect, despite his ineffectiveness, at least Biden’s heart is in the right place vis-à-vis that type of thinking. Trump is sounding alarmingly isolationist these days – though I take it with a grain of salt. It’s part of his “throw everything at the barn door and see what sticks” strategy.
If Esper ultimately doesn’t vote for Biden, that means even though he prefers Trump to Biden in terms of foreign affairs, it’s not enough to override the extent to which Esper can’t stomach how Biden’s given a free hand to those who tolerate and in some cases even embrace porous borders, wokeness run amok, and unfettered street crime.

In that case, Esper may simply stay home on Election Day, vote for a different candidate, or even write in someone in protest to Trump, such as Mitt Romney or Mike Pence. Again, would anyone who really thinks Trump is a threat to democracy take a chance on Trump being reelected by, say, writing in “Abraham Lincoln” on Election Day symbolically instead of voting for a realistic alternative?
Sadly, it’s become fanciful for both major parties to accuse the opposing presidential candidate of being a threat to democracy. Rightfully so, many harshly criticize Biden for ignoring Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when he was his Democratic primary rival and continuing to refuse Kennedy’s repeated pleas for Secret Service protection. As bad as all that is, it’s not going to be our downfall as a nation. It’s not a threat to our Constitution; we’re not going to devolve into a Banana Republic. That’s just plain old hyberbole.
The ramped-up language is part of the media’s decades-long transformation from a civic-minded public service to a big business enterprise. The more the two major parties – and their media messenger boy enablers – convince the public that they must elect their own candidate otherwise democracy is doomed, the higher voter turnout will be. The press, in turn, is all in because the more combustible the political climate, the higher their ratings.
So, sit back and relax: one candidate has a good chance of reducing crime, wokeness, inflation, illegal entry and stay, and military presence abroad. The other candidate may increase opportunities for abortion, asylum, and social justice, usher in more green energy, and strengthen relations with our allies. And voters will vote according to their priorities. But, either way, democracy is safe and sound.