(Washington Monthly) Most of the words that issue from Donald J. Trump’s lips are disjointed nonsense, and his recent “national security” speech was no exception. Occasionally, however, Trump utters a notion that carries a modicum of truth. As a former Army intelligence officer who served in Afghanistan, I can say that this time he was right about…

Again, when actual professionals with experience and knowledge speak, they are able to clearly identify how Trump as President would be a disaster for our country.

First, consider the domestic ramifications. Trump has publicly ridiculed the parents of a Muslim-American Army officer who died serving our country. Furthermore, Trump announced that he would create a McCarthy-esque Commission on Radical Islam that will allegedly help “expose the networks in our society that support radicalization.” In Trump’s world, Muslims are merely targets of—not true partners in—a solution to radicalization.

His divisive statements, wrongheaded policy proposals, and apparent ignorance of the vital role that Muslims in the U.S. have already played in combating terrorism by willingly reporting information to law enforcement undermine the relationships built over many years between law enforcement and Muslim communities—relationships defined by trust, not fear. With Trump as the president, how could we expect any Muslim to trust the government enough to provide information?