Opinion: Listen to what Trump’s own officials have to say about him

Editor’s Note: John Avlon is a CNN senior political analyst and anchor. He is the author of “Lincoln and the Fight for Peace.” The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion at CNN.

This is a time for choosing, as Ronald Reagan famously said, and the stakes have never been higher. In the nearly 250-year history of the United States, we’ve never had a major political party at high risk of choosing a nominee like this, someone who routinely praises foreign dictators and is running on a frankly authoritarian platform.

It’s not just Democrats and independents who are sounding the alarm. A truly stunning number of former Cabinet-level Trump administration officials are trying to warn Republican primary voters that their old boss’s reelection would be a disaster for our country.

Take them seriously as well as literally. There is no precedent for two dozen former White House officials coming out so strongly against the fundamental fitness of the man they served with on a day-to-day basis.

Here’s Donald Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence: “Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. … President Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution.”

Here’s one of his defense secretaries, retired Gen. James Mattis: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.” Mattis has also said, “He is more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine.”

Here’s one of his former chiefs of staff and homeland security secretaries, retired Gen. John Kelly, describing Trump to our CNN colleague Jake Tapper as “A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about … A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”

Here’s his second attorney general, Bill Barr: “He is a consummate narcissist. And he constantly engages in reckless conduct. … He will always put his own interests, and gratifying his own ego, ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest.”

Here’s one of his national security advisers, retired Lt. Gen. HR McMaster: “President Trump and other officials have repeatedly compromised our principles in pursuit of partisan advantage and personal gain.”

Here’s another national security adviser, John Bolton: “I have been in those rooms with him when he met with those [world] leaders, I believe they think he’s a laughing fool.  And the idea that somehow his presence in office would have deterred Putin is flatly wrong … He’s not fit to be president.”

Here’s another former defense secretary, Mark Esper: “He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country.”

Take those quotes in. Read them aloud. Share them with friends, family and neighbors who might be tempted to go along with the crowd and vote for Trump.

Typically, the people who work with someone the closest know them the best. These lifelong patriots and conservative public servants feel – based on direct personal experience – that Trump is a threat to the republic, an impulsive liar who cares who about himself far more than the Constitution or the country. Their concerns are echoed by other senior Trump White House staffers, including Alyssa Farah Griffin, a CNN contributor, who recently said “a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it.”

Ignoring this volume of testimonies requires hyper-partisan self-delusion and veers into idolatry – encouraged, of course, by Trump himself.

But what about the Republican elected officials who have scrambled to endorse Trump before a single person has actually voted? The vast majority are motivated by cowardice and careerism – fear and greed. They are afraid of the base because of closed partisan primaries and want to hold on to their jobs. But in private, many recognize the base is being played for fools by Trump.

Read this from Atlantic writer McKay Coppins’s book “Romney: A Reckoning”: “Perhaps Romney’s most surprising discovery upon entering the Senate was that his disgust with Trump was not unique among his Republican colleagues. ‘Almost without exception,’ he told me, ‘they shared my view of the president.’”

Publicly, Coppins noted, “they played their parts as Trump loyalists, often contorting themselves rhetorically to defend the president’s most indefensible behavior. But in private, they ridiculed his ignorance, rolled their eyes at his antics, and made incisive observations about his warped, toddler-like psyche. Romney recalled one senior Republican senator frankly admitting, ‘He has none of the qualities you would want in a president, and all of the qualities you wouldn’t.’”

Yet time and again we have seen Republican politicians pull their punches when it comes to clearly condemning the reality TV chaos agent whose 91 counts in four indictments include allegations of trying to overturn an American election on the basis of a lie that helped foster an attack on the US Capitol. (Trump denies any wrongdoing.)

Their rationalizations have included arguing that Trump should be tried in court rather than convicted on articles of impeachment – then flipping to oppose legal accountability on the grounds that it might be divisive. They’ve argued that, if Trump is to be defeated, it should be at the ballot box, despite the obvious fact that this two-time popular vote loser tried to ignore the will of the people before, showing contempt for the peaceful transfer of power.

These fear-fueled Republican “leaders” are in fact waiting to follow the lead of the GOP’s primary voters. So the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire have a disproportionate responsibility over the next few days.

They alone can change the trajectory of this election, potentially redeeming the Republican Party as well as our republic from the prospect of being led into further division and accelerated decline by a man whose closest associates recognize that he is a unique threat to the success of the American experiment.

This is the last off-ramp before the general election. Heading to the caucus room and ballot booth, Republican voters should keep in mind the words of the one-time conservative hero (and liberal villain) former Vice President Dick Cheney: “There has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”