Ohio’s Senator Rob Portman co-founded the Ukraine Caucus in the Senate, and led it from 2015 to 2023.
To his credit, he worked tirelessly to build the bipartisan caucus, raise the alarm about what Russia was doing there, the broader threat that posed, and rallied support for Ukraine for years.
He even wrote an op-ed in the Columbus Dispatch last year that said:
“Among the opponents of providing assistance to Ukraine are those who cling to unrealistic and convenient arguments that somehow, if America pulls back, Vladimir Putin will come to the bargaining table, and Ukraine can remain a free, independent democracy. There is simply no evidence in the history of aggression by dictators or in the words or deeds of Vladimir Putin to support this argument.”
He was right then. And he is right now.
In that op-ed, Portman described a “bipartisan concern” that the Biden administration was not doing enough, and he called on the “administration to follow this congressional intent.”
I have only one question: where is Portman now?
That same voice, and that willingness to challenge a sitting administration, would sure be helpful as the Trump Administration pursues the precise strategy Portman warned (correctly) would fail. To use his words, the United States is now “pull[ing] back” as aggressively as imaginable. And that spells disaster for Ukraine, and the world.
Especially given Portman’s endorsement of JD Vance to succeed him in the Senate, a bold statement by Portman now—echoing the very points he made just a year ago— would matter.
But in case you think I’m just picking on Portman, let me assure I’m looking for others as well.
Condoleeza Rice would be a great person to hear from right about now, wouldn’t she?
After all, she urged her fellow Republicans to support Ukraine at the Alfalfa Dinner in January 2024. She said the same thing in October 2024 at Notre Dame. She told the crowd there: “We need to keep supporting [Ukrainians], because if Vladimir Putin wins this war, he won’t stop.”
Well, he’s about to win it, Madame Secretary. Thanks to our own country.
Can you please come back and remind us of what that will mean? Your voice really would help right about now.
And while I think Republican voices are especially important—because Democrats speaking out will be dismissed as predictably partisan—I think everyone should be speaking out. Especially those elder statesman and stateswoman who’ve earned domestic and international credibility.
For example, someone asked me on a Zoom call last night if it would help right now if Barack Obama were more visible on these matters.
My answer: “Yes!”
We need every elder statesman and stateswoman in America to speak out.
And because, again, the Democratic dissenters will be attacked as partisan, the best of all approaches would be if they unified to do it—building a chorus of statespeople that is not only bipartisan, but above party entirely.
I’ve actually envisioned a joint statement and appearance from a broad, bipartisan group of elder statesmen and women. The Obamas. The Bushes. The Clintons. The Pences and Cheneys (who, incredibly, have said more than any other Republicans). Want to wake America up? Bring them together to say something meaningful.
In the same vein, other national leaders should also weigh in in the areas where they have unique expertise and credibility. On the current Ukraine disaster…Portman. Rice. Former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley (who in 2015 warned that “Russia is banking that we will allow [Ukraine] to fail, and that the Ukrainian people will decide at some point that turning west was a mistake.”)
As Trump starts violating court orders, we need the courageous voice of Judge Michael Luttig (a true model of the leadership I’m talking about) joined by other, bipartisan elder statesmen and women of the judiciary.
Honestly, this shouldn’t be so hard.
After all, we are watching heroic steps being taken by public servants with far less standing, and across partisan lines:
Danielle Sassoon (a former clerk of Justice Scalia) giving up one of the great jobs in law to stand on principle, and a number of others joining her.
The Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration resigning after 30 years of service rather than handing over our Social Security data to DOGE.
Many other acts of patriotism and courage and sacrifice are being made up and down the line (many of which we don’t even know about) to do the right thing. And we are seeing everyday citizens joining in—marching and protesting in DC and at state capitols.
Great writers like Heather Cox Richardson and Timothy Snyder and Anne Applebaum are hammering away, trying to inform us and wake us up and show us the way.
But amid all these acts of patriotism, some back-up from the top—sobriety, clarity and straight talk from the most respected, credible and bipartisan voices in America, in some unified fashion—would hugely help.
Why?
It seems self-evident, but let me just spell out a few reasons:
The bully pulpit of the presidency and Musk’s perch atop social media, along with the “shock and awe” approach, are overwhelming the information ecosystem, and the truth, and warping the entire conversation. High-level and credible figures coming together to set the record straight would bring some heft to help even things out. It would give everyday Americans more pause than Democrats on the Hill speaking out, which is what they are expected to do.
Silence from highly respected figures conveys the opposite message—it leaves the impression that things must not be that bad. “Because if they were bad,” most Americans would think, “we’d hear more from them.”
Collective memories are short. Respected figures coming together to remind Americans—especially younger generations—that none of this is normal, would provide a badly needed reminder and lesson. Because right now, the risk is that it all settles in as “the new normal.” And as time passes, that means fewer and fewer will call for change.
Some may say: “it’s too soon for this now. We should wait for things to get really bad—for true red lines to be crossed.” They’re being crossed as we speak. The very things Rice and Portman warned about are happening at this moment.
My guess is that the answer from some figures will be something like: “I’m working behind the scenes to do what I can. If I speak out, that will mean I can’t make a difference behind the scenes.” And my guess is, some are trying to make a difference behind the scenes. But if we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that “behind the scenes” and Alfalfa Club speeches don’t work. This is a public battle. An information war. Leaving Trump (and now Musk) with the biggest/only microphone while scurrying around “behind the scenes” has failed for a decade, and will continue to fail.
And I also imagine some saying: “former Presidents are supposed to give a wide berth to new presidents to lead as they see fit.” To which I say: “and current presidents are supposed to respect the rule of law, the separation of powers, and side with democracies over autocracies.” That’s not just a tradition, it’s the Constitution. And if it and deeply rooted American principles are being violated by a sitting president, all other bets are off—including informal traditions that only weaken us at this moment.
Finally, with some, I imagine there is fear of retaliation by the Trump administration. But if even our most respected leaders can’t speak up because of that fear, then autocracy has already arrived.
Let me close by returning to Senator Portman’s op-ed above.
He wrote, correctly, about the failed strategy of thinking that “if America pulls back, Vladimir Putin will come to the bargaining table…. There is simply no evidence in the history of aggression by dictators….to support this argument.”
The same is true in the United States right now.
Silence and “pulling back” also will not work when it comes to Trump.
It never has—Donald Trump’s “history of aggression” has taught the same lesson as Putin’s.
We need all who know how wrong this all is to come together.
To use Trump’s words from a few years back, what the hell else do we have to lose?
Day 79 — February 18, 2025
The “negotiation” in Saudi Arabia between US and Russia about the Ukrainian war, followed by Trump’s statements that Ukraine started the war and demanding a new Ukraine election, was an absolute capitulation by the United States, a monumental victory for Russia, and an abandonment of the people of Ukraine.
I tweeted before yesterday’s meetings:
“Neville Chamberlain returned from Munich and declared “peace for our time.”
His name has been permanently stained for getting it so wrong.
Now imagine Chamberlain had come back and declared: ‘we get half of Czech minerals!’
That’s what Trump’s trying to do.”
The day turned out even worse than that.
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