Democracy, Populism, & Domestic Politics, Power & Security, United States Alexander Vindman on past events, future concerns

Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman says he is concerned he’ll be targeted for retribution should President Donald Trump win a second term and thinks there should be a bipartisan “truth and reconciliation commission” to look at the events of the last four years once Trump is out of office.

Vindman, who served on the National Security Council as an expert on Ukraine before he was ousted in February, spoke at a virtual event at Perry World House (PWH) on Thursday, the one-year anniversary of his testimony before the presidential impeachment inquiry. The talk, called “For the People: Public Service in 21st Century America,” was moderated by Susan Glasser, a staff writer at The New Yorker who writes a weekly column on life in Trump’s Washington.

Vindman, who is also a Perry World House visiting scholar for 2020-21, didn’t hold back in the hourlong discussion, which covered everything from why he didn’t go the whistleblower route to whether workers in the security council were actively resisting Trump to if he’ll vote this election. 

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