John Avlon Gets Destroyed by Maher’s Panel for Claiming Biden-Harris Admin is Stronger Against Authoritarian Regimes than Trump Was

LOWRY: “I do not get conservative Republicans supporting Kamala Harris. That does not — “
AVLON: “But hold on. Let’s work through it. It’s not just about right, it’s about one person wants to strengthen NATO and all the multilateral security arrangements that have helped keep the peace for the best part — for the most part since the Second World War; the other wants to sell out to a lot of these autocratic countries. That’s a personal, not political decision. I think that’s actually consistent. Also, I think it’s healthy because, you know, I think you get more Republicans endorsing Democrats, it makes the point that this election is about something bigger. It’s about building a broad patriotic coalition.”
(Applause)
LOWRY: “Again, the U.S. military was stronger, not weaker, when Trump was done with his first term. And he was — actually, he said a lot of dumb things about Putin, but he supported Ukraine more than Obama did. And he was harder on China than any prior president. And now that position has become a kind of bipartisan consensus.”
MAHER: “Wait, wait, we have someone who — “
McMASTER: “Well, I mean, this is a big part of the book. I mean, he actually did. He’s the first one who provided defensive capabilities to the Ukrainians.”
LOWRY: “I try to tell you guys, but you don’t believe it until H.R. says it.”
(Laughter)
McMASTER: “But then he did suspend that assistance to get dirt on the Bidens. So, you know, you said — I wouldn’t say reckless, I would say inconsistent/erratic versus fecklessness. And I do think that when you talk about, like, coddling authoritarian regimes, look at what this administration has done with the Iranians. I mean, the Supreme Leader has gotten an easy ride from the Biden Administration. They didn’t even want to acknowledge Iran’s role in October 7th at the beginning. They still have not really reimposed or actually enforced the sanctions against the Iranians since October 7th and with them having the whole Middle East on fire. So I think it’s a more complicated situation, is what I’m saying, John.”
AVLON: “But — “
McMASTE:R “You know, you can’t just make these statements — “
AVLON: “Hold on, H.R. I love you, man. But hold on. Like, we’ve got one guy saying we should we should pull out of NATO, right, we should not — Putin can do whatever the hell he wants, basically giving a yellow light to China on Taiwan. I mean, you know, the autocratic alliance you warn about is in many cases rooting for Donald Trump because they think it leads to American division and decline. Tell me where I’m wrong.”
McMASTER: “Well, what I’m saying is there were some things, right, there’s some things where Donald Trump’s right. I mean, there’s some things where he’s right. There are some things where he’s completely erratic and inconsistent. Where is he right on? I think he’s been right on energy security, for example. I think he’s been right on reciprocity and trade. He’s been right on burden sharing. But then again, with Donald Trump, he’s so disruptive, right? He disrupts what needs to be disrupted sometimes, but then he goes on to disrupt himself, and he becomes kind of the antagonist in his own story. So, I mean, so you’ve got a choice, right, in this election. People have to make the choice between what I would say are really self-destructive policies at times for the Biden Administration on the Middle East, on the war in Israel, but really the war in the region, and kind of the erratic nature of President Trump. But these are the questions these candidates have to be asked. What are their positions on these issues, on NATO, on Ukraine, on the war in the Middle East?”
LOWRY: “I think this — you know more than I do, but the hit on Soleimani, I think, was shocking. It wasn’t a major war. One hit, one guy. I think everyone with American blood on their hands around the world slept less easily after that hit. And it just went to the fact that he had deterrent force. People were scared or worried about him in a way they haven’t been of Joe Biden.”
AVLON: “Look, the bipartisan consensus in more American foreign policy is we should stand up against tyrants and terrorists, right, and I do believe that. And I do think that we learned a lot in the wake of the Iraq war. But the fact is, is that right now, if you’re strong on national security, one party’s leader seems to be trying to weaken NATO, and the other party has expanded it and strengthened it.”
LOWRY: “A lot of that is working them to try to get them to spend more. But I don’t see — the Afghan withdrawal, does this compute at all in your — “
AVLON: “There’s no reason Pompeo should have negotiated with the Taliban alone in Doha.”
LOWRY: “But it was a conditions-based thing. Biden didn’t accept anything else that Trump did, except he was supposedly forced by Trump to do a withdrawal. That was totally incompetent, dishonorable, a disgrace. His presidency has not recovered from it since, and our position abroad hasn’t recovered from it since.”
McMASTER: “And I think you can draw a direct line from that disastrous, humiliating withdrawal to the re-invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022. I mean, I think what’s weakness — what is provocative is the perception of weakness.”