Ambassador Jon Huntsman’s response to Robert Gehrke’s heartfelt and well-reasoned column was condescending and off point.
Rather than address the actual facts in Gehrke’s article, Huntsman tried to belittle the importance of Gehrke’s job, then misdirected into a strawman argument wherein he defended the work of his staff rather than address Gehrke’s legitimate, fact-based concerns about the actions of a president whose behavior and policies many Americans, including many Republicans, consider irresponsible and reckless, if not criminal.
The haughty tone and oversimplified perspectives in Huntsman’s response were all the more shocking given the unprecedented nature of the allegations against Russia and the fact that Huntsman himself is tasked with helping to carry out Trump’s policies, which Huntsman seems determined to do despite widespread opposition from American citizens and serious concerns from our intelligence agencies about the relationship between Trump and Russia.
It appears that Huntsman neither respects the role of a good political columnist nor understands the importance of being civil and serious-minded in his role as an official representative of our country.
Matt Connelly, Bountiful