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Michael McFaul Profile picture
@McFaul
Sep 10, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
When I served as U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Putin's propagandists made the crazy claim that Obama sent me to Moscow to foment revolution. They cited this academic article from 2006 as "proof" that I was a professional "revolutionary." journalofdemocracy.org/articles/trans… THREAD 1/
Now, pro-Trump conspiracy theorists are making the same crazy claim about me, only this time my objective is a color revolution against the U.S. government! And now they too are citing the same @JoDemocracy article as evidence! Coincidence or coordination? 2/
Glad to be expanding readership of the Journal of Democracy -- one of the most important journals in my profession -- among Trump fans. But writing as an academic about democratic breakthroughs or color revolutions does not make one a professional revolutionary. 3/
And on academic footnote -- revolutions only occur in autocracies, against dictators. (There is a big academic literature on this subject.) The United States is still a democracy. 4/
To state the obvious, I do not support revolutions or coups. Im a militant defender of democracy. American voters - not Putin or anyone else - should decide who will be president next year (but our 2 million soldiers, CIA agents, diplomats, etc. get to vote too). 5/
As I wrote a few months ago, "Trump and Biden must pledge publicly and unequivocally that they will accept the results of an election, broadly judged to have been free and fair." So should Trump & Biden supporters. 6/ END THREAD.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

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More from @McFaul

Michael McFaul Profile picture
Nov 17
Many compare Trump to Putin. I have, too. But the moment right now feels more like the Yeltsin era, when Russia's oligarchs took advantage of an older & somewhat incapacitated leader to privatize the state for their own interests. I wrote about this at length in the 1990s. THREAD 1/
See for instance, McFaul, “Russia's ‘Privatized’ State as an Impediment to Democratic Consolidation,” Part I, Security Dialogue, Vol. 29, No. 2 (Spring 1998), pp. 25-33. 2/
and McFaul, “Russia's ‘Privatized’ State as an Impediment to Democratic Consolidation,” Part II, Security Dialogue, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Summer 1998), pp. 219-236. 3/
Read 5 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
Nov 7
I hope future members of Trump's national security team are students of John Mearsheimer, especially when dealing with Putin. THREAD 1/
In his classic The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, Professor Mearsheimer wrote (p. 164),
"appeasement contradicts the dictates of offensive realism and, therefore, is a fanciful and dangerous strategy." 2/
"It is unlikely to transform a dangerous force into a kinder, gentler opponent, much less a peace-loving state." 3/
Read 5 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
Oct 28
"A second Trump presidency will usher in a new chaotic, uncertain, and violent era, both at home and abroad. Some believe that’s ok, that we need an era of disruption to radically undermine the status quo at home and abroad. I don’t." 1/ THREAD
"As an academic, I have studied revolutions for over four decades. Some generate better outcomes for societies that live through them. Most do not. Instead, they produce sharp economic downturns, civil wars, dictatorships, and interstate conflicts." 2/
"America needs peaceful reform, not violent revolution. Our economy, the envy of the world, needs some reforms, not massive disruption. Our democracy needs gradual improvements, not a chaotic breakdown." 3/
Read 4 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
Oct 25
"In the upcoming U.S. presidential election, there are legitimate policy differences between Vice President Kamala Harris and Mr. Donald Trump, over which reasonable people will debate and disagree." THREAD 1/
"For instance, the two candidates have different views on taxation. I can understand why affluent voters might support Trump over Harris. That’s rational, even if I disagree with them." 2/
"I can also understand why tech entrepreneurs might think that Trump will be better for them regarding regulation, even if I think they’re wrong, because I may value competition more than they do. But that’s an honest policy disagreement." 3/
Read 8 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
Oct 3
"Former President Trump ... blamed the United States for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and called Zelenskyy “the greatest salesman in history” because “every time he comes to the country, he walks away with 100 billion.” THREAD 1/
"While Trump rightly talked about the tremendous loss of life and property in Ukraine as a result of war, he never once blamed Putin for such killing and destruction." 2/
"That has been a consistent pattern for Trump for almost a decade now. He doesn’t criticize Putin and instead admires his strength and justifies his barbaric actions. " 3/
Read 4 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
Sep 23
The differences between candidates regarding foreign policy in this presidential election are very clear. That is not always the case. But this time around, voters have a very clear choice. Harris and Trump have very different approaches. 1/ THREAD
Harris believes in engagement and world leadership, supports allies and multilateralism, champions economic statecraft that benefits all Americans, and aspires to advance our democratic values. 2/
Trump trumpets isolationism, pursues pugnacious unilateralism, does not value allies, embraces dictators, and ignores the promotion of democratic values. 3/
Read 4 tweets

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