Michael McFaul Profile picture
Sep 17, 2020 5 tweets 1 min read Read on X
In case you forgot how American leaders used to speak:

"... there's not a liberal America and a conservative America — there's the United States of America." THREAD. 1/
"There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America." 2/
"The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats." 3/
"But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States." 4/
"We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States.... We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America." @BarackObama, 2004.

END THREAD 5/

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More from @McFaul

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
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
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
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
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
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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