Pardee’s Jack Weinstein Touts Biden at Democratic Convention
Pardee’s Jack Weinstein was among the national security experts who addressed the Democratic National Convention, remotely, Tuesday night. Photo courtesy Democratic National Committee
Pardee’s Jack Weinstein Touts Biden at Democratic Convention
Prof’s comments were made in a video montage on national security Tuesday night
A BU professor flayed President Donald Trump Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention as part of a video tag team of experts addressing national security.
Jack Weinstein, a Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies professor of the practice of international security, was part of the seven-speaker, three-minute video montage addressing security issues. (All of the convention is being held remotely rather than in person because of COVID-19). Weinstein joined luminaries like former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Marie L. Yovanovitch, former US ambassador to Ukraine, who testified in last year’s impeachment inquiry that President Trump recalled her for failing to push that nation to investigate Trump’s potential 2020 political rival Joe Biden.
“He knows exactly what’s at stake when he sends our troops overseas,” Weinstein said of Democratic nominee Biden in the first of several snippets, totaling 30 seconds, that he delivered in the video (watch it below). Turning to Trump, he said, “I served in the United States Air Force for 36 years. I’ve led space squadrons, nuclear missile squadrons, and I never thought I would have a president who was a danger to national security. The Russians offered bounties on US soldiers; I was shocked when I read that. But the president didn’t even ask Vladimir Putin about it. That’s un-American.”
“The first thing a president needs to do is find out what the facts are. This president doesn’t care about facts.” Closing out the video, he said, “If you want a strong America, you want Joe Biden.”
BU Today asked Weinstein, a retired US Air Force lieutenant general, about the experience of participating in the convention.
Q&A
With Jack Weinstein
BU Today: How were you selected to speak?
Jack Weinstein: I’m a member of a group titled National Security Leaders for Biden, separate from the actual campaign—that was the stepping-stone. I was then asked by the Biden campaign if I would be willing to make a national security video supporting the former VP. I said yes. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I worked with a senior member of the Biden campaign when I was in the Pentagon during the Obama administration.
BU Today: What was the key theme you wanted to convey?
Jack Weinstein: The main themes I wanted to convey were: A) Joe Biden is ready to be president today; B) he has the skills and experience needed to rebuild America’s alliance network that has been weakened under the current president; C) he understands military families since his son Beau served in uniform; D) the current president is not acting in the best interests of the American people nor our veterans.
BU Today: Even though you were remote, you had a national audience. What was the sensation of addressing the convention like?
While in uniform, I was on 60 Minutes, so I’ve had exposure to a national-level audience. However, this was different, as I knew past presidents would be watching the convention—Carter, Clinton, Obama, and the former VP [Biden]. The campaign worked with me to ensure my thoughts were correctly represented and didn’t violate any norms. They were easy to work with and took into consideration my inputs. It was an honor to work with them.
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