Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro slammed President Donald Trump in an interview broadcast Sunday, calling him “erratic” and suggesting that he is “not fit” for office, the Hill reports.
According to the former mayor of San Antonio, Donald Trump is letting down the American people and American allies abroad. The “turmoil” with his staff, and the sudden withdrawal of troops from Syria speak volumes about the president’s competence, according to Castro.
“‘He’s not giving the American people or our allies around the world any sense that there’s a rationale for the decisions that he’s making. And the events of this last week were just another example of that, whether it’s a sudden announcement of a withdrawal in Syria or the turmoil with his staff.”
Castro’s comments come following Donald Trump’s controversial and widely-condemned decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan. The decision has not only upset lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and the country’s mainstream media, it has also prompted the resignation of now-former Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Mattis authored a resignation letter explaining that his foreign policy views do not align with Trump’s.
Julian Castro’s sentiment is apparently shared by many, but the Texas Democrat’s decision to use this week’s events as evidence that Trump is not fit for office appears akin to opinions expressed by media magnate and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , Bloomberg penned an op-ed for one of his own media companies, describing the Trump presidency as “recklessly emotional and senselessly chaotic,” and arguing that the decision to withdraw troops from Syria — in combination with the government shutdown, James Mattis’ resignation, and the plummeting stock market — is a “glimpse” of the beginning of collapse.
Castro was perhaps even harsher than Bloomberg in his criticism of the president, describing him as “erratic.”
Julián Castro: Trump is “not behaving like he’s fit for office” https://t.co/oLrZFgStw9 pic.twitter.com/Yqh6A0IJaW
— The Hill (@thehill) December 24, 2018
The Democrat suggested that even those who voted for Trump in 2016 are now beginning to “reassess” him, adding that Americans understand that the country needs “different” leadership. But unlike Bloomberg, Castro acknowledged that the U.S. troops had to have been withdrawn from Syria. For the Texas Democrat, the withdrawal in and of itself is not an issue, but the timing and the methodology are.
According to Castro, the way Trump has withdrawn troops is “not the way that it should be done.” Instead of abruptly bringing American soldiers stationed in Syria back home, the president should have designed and followed a “solid plan.”
“For our own sake, for the sake of our troops, for the sake of our allies, once you’re there, you have to actually have a solid plan for how you’re going to withdraw,” he said.