Steve Corbin is emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa and a freelance writer who receives no remuneration, funding, or endorsement from any for-profit business, nonprofit organization, political action committee, or political party. 

Psychological scientists who study human behavior concur that past actions are the best predictor of future behavior. If past actions caused no problem, then all is well. If, however, a person demonstrated poor behavior in the past, well, buckle up. The odds are very great the person will continue to perform poorly if given the chance.

Donald Trump’s past behavior on national defense indicates that if the 45th president becomes the 47th president, we’re in a heap of trouble. Americans must seriously examine Trump’s past national security endeavors before voting on November 5.

Many Americans recall how Trump cozied up to Russia, which assisted his 2016 presidential campaign by spreading disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda about Hillary Clinton. It’s no surprise that Trump repeated that same behavior when his friend, Russian President Vladimir Putin (whom Trump has described as a “genius”) interfered on the president’s behalf in the 2020 election. As the conservative-oriented Wall Street Journal reported on July 10, U.S. intelligence officials say Putin’s regime “has launched a ‘whole-of-government’ effort to influence the outcome of the U.S. presidential election” in 2024.

The Wall Street Journal (which Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation owns) has previously reported on Trump’s relationship with other authoritarian countries, and its effect on our national security.

Trump’s embrace of the dictators who run China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea is disturbing. As noted in a May 1 Wall Street Journal article by Matt Pottinger, “There are signs Beijing and its axis of chaos, which includes Russia, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, is planning the next phase of violent disruption.”

Those countries, along with a few allies, have formed an axis of evil that opposes Western power, freedom, and democracy. Trump has embraced that style of authoritarian rule by praising the dictators in charge.

Anyone with a modicum of intelligence who passed a middle school history class knows China has been trying to take control of Taiwan since 1954, Russia started attacking Ukraine in 2014, Iran began their anti-Israel stance in 1979, and the North Korea-South Korea conflict has existed since 1950. But Trump is not a student of history or international relationships; he’s a transactional individual who adores power-brokers.

In May 2018, then president Trump withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. How did that work out? On April 13 of this year, Iran launched more than 300 missiles against Israel. This act alone has caused U.S. intelligence services and international officials to conclude Iran poses a significant threat to America and its allies. For the record, Russia has a very large arsenal of around 6,000 nuclear warheads, China has more than 400, and North Korea has about 50.

Joseph J. Collins, retired Army colonel who served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations and lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, assessed Trump’s record for the publication Defense One in September 2020. He noted that in addition to ending the Iranian nuclear development agreement, the U.S. gained little from Trump’s decisions to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia, Paris Climate Accord, Trans-Pacific Partnership, and United Nation’s Human Rights Council and Health Organization.

Collins contends those actions allowed “China and other powers to fill into the leadership vacuum. U.S. security partners are troubled by these developments and see them as evidence of a new, selfish neo-isolationism on the part of the nation that used to take pride in its leadership of the free world.“

Furthermore, Collins has first-hand knowledge of Trump’s dysfunctional decision-making. It’s well documented that during his presidency, Trump did not have long intelligence briefings, didn’t read detailed briefing materials, misplaced confidential documents, designated some secret national documents as personal, shared classified information with unauthorized foreigners, and made major decisions without consultation with allies and advisors.

Collins concludes, “Even accounting for a high degree of difficulty, it is impossible to give the Trump national security policy good marks.”

Let’s face the reality of homeland security. The U.S. cannot stand alone. We desperately need to maintain a solid relationship with our 200-plus allies, increase Department of Defense appropriations and vigorously oppose the advances of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, or we will cease to exist as a democracy.

Should Trump return to the White House on January 20, 2025, the safety and security of 342 million Americans will be in jeopardy.

Now that you are fully aware of Trump’s national defense blunders and know past actions are the best predictor of future actions, is he our best choice to be leader of the free world? If Trump is elected, you can kiss democracy good-bye as the U.S. scales back its commitments to NATO allies and increasingly aligns with authoritarian or fascist-oriented dictatorships.

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Top photo of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on July 11, 2024 was first posted on Orbán’s X/Twitter feed.