It’s clear that independent 2016 candidate Evan McMullin is going to be one of the toughest conservative critics of Republicans in the incoming Trump presidency.

McMullin has been consistently critical of Republicans for failing to do more to stand up to Donald Trump, and in a tweetstorm last night he called on GOP leaders to condemn Trump’s “alliance” with Vladimir Putin (in response to Trump echoing Putin’s sentiments about the Democrats):

Republican leaders must condemn @realDonaldTrump's alliance with Putin, a foreign adversary who is actively undermining our democracy. https://t.co/7q0OkzNF2T — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

Trump's treacherous relationship with Putin is a threat to our democracy, the very system that protects our country's most basic interests. — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

Republican leaders know this. The question is whether they, with their Democratic counterparts, will have the courage to stand up. — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

Leaders who do not oppose Trump's unbridled collaboration with Putin fail the American people and share responsibility for its consequences. — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

The stakes are too high for our leaders to simply take a pass because they're afraid to bear Trump's wrath or that of his supporters. — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

And he continued this morning, even more unsparing of the hesitance Republicans have to speak out:

Saying that you don't see a problem is an excellent way to excuse one's failure to speak up when it's difficult but necessary to do so. https://t.co/Iryk3oACDB — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

This reminds me of the primaries when they said: "He won't win so there's no need to condemn his bigotry & undermining of our democracy." — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

Or the general election when they said, "He won't win so why bother publicly opposing his proposed violations of the Constitution?" — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

Or post-election when they've said, "He's not yet in office, so no need to speak out against his clear unfitness for the presidency." — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

For leaders who lack the courage to stand up and speak truth when necessary, claiming not to see an obvious problem is an attractive option. — Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 24, 2016

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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