For Charles Krauthammer, Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton is a real dilemma.
The conservative columnist concedes the obvious — electing Clinton president could tilt the balance of power on the Supreme Court in a liberal direction for a generation. Then again, Krauthammer said, filling federal court vacancies is not the only thing that presidents do. Running U.S. foreign policy is among their chief duties, and one they are charged with carrying out virtually unobstructed by Congress.
“It is a real dilemma and I respect people on both sides that will give different answers,” Krauthammer said during a special extended interview with “Examining Politics,” the weekly podcast from the Washington Examiner. “I don’t think I could vote for Donald Trump, but perhaps I could be persuaded.”
Krauthammer, 66, is a nationally syndicated columnist, Fox News contributor and author of the best-selling book Things That Matter. In an interview with “Examining Politics,” the influential thinker discussed his transformation from Great Society liberal to small-government conservative.
Krauthammer talked Middle East affairs and how President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran could impact the future prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. And of course, Krauthammer talked about U.S. domestic politics, and the rise of Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
Some of the highlights:
- So long as the Palestinians don’t accept the reality and legitimacy of a Jewish state — anywhere in Palestine, the borders aren’t the issue, it is existence. So long as they don’t accept it, so long as they teach their children that it’s a colonial criminal enterprise, there will never be peace. On the day that they do decide they accept the Jewish state, peace will come in a month.
- I’m open to empirical evidence, and over time I began to rethink my premises and came to a view — it took probably a decade or so — that smaller more limited government was far preferable, both for reasons of values, mainly liberty, but also because it tends to produce a healthier more productive society. So that was my evolution.
- I think what Trump represents is the utter defeat of the Tea Party. This is not the culmination of some kind of Tea Party revolution. Tea Party came to fore as a constitutionalist, limited government, low taxation, low intrusion, small government advocacy group. Is that what Trump is? Of course not.
