Responding to the growing chorus of Republicans breaking with President Trump over his decision to withdraw a contingent of US troops from northeast Syria, Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin argued that those same Republicans have no one to blame but themselves for Trump’s potentially disastrous decision.

According to Rubin, “Trump betrays American democracy at the drop of a hat” with his continuous praise of dictators and alienation of US allies. So, Rubin asks, what did they expect he would do when it came to the Kurds?

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“Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.), Ted Cruz (Tex.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Graham as well as House Republican hawks have not only defended but also now support for reelection a president who has defended and promoted the interests of American foes (e.g., Russia, North Korea) time and again,” Rubin writes. “Without them, Trump could not fend off impeachment; without them, he would not have clear-sailing to a second term in which even more allies could be betrayed.”

Thanks to “partisan tribalism,” Republicans are now married to Trump’s failures, Rubin argues. The GOP is now on the side of a “know-nothing president whose foreign policy is worse, by leaps and bounds, than President Barack Obama’s, whom these same Republicans decried as weak and lacking belief in American exceptionalism.”

In conclusion, Rubin calls on “the Cheneys, the Grahams and the rest” to take a stand and forget about their obsession with reelecting Trump.

“Hold him accountable for betraying American democracy.”

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