An Interview with Independent Presidential Candidate Evan McMullin
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.4K Ratings
🗓️ 17 September 2016
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's been an unusual election season so far—to put it mildly. Among the many other unexpected or unprecedented occurrences that have taken place over the course of the 2016 campaign season, we've seen many people working in the usually quiet and apolitical national security space take a step into the political limelight.
This is especially true of Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer and former Chief Policy Director for the House Republican Conference who is now running for president as an independent. Lawfare's Carrie Cordero came on the podcast to interview McMullin on how his experience in national security operations and policy influenced his decision to make a late independent bid for the presidency, and how his career would shape his approach to the important national security issues facing the country.
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Transcript
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| 0:29.0 | Well, look, I've said from day one that I would have preferred that somebody else stepped up to launch an independent conservative bid for the presidency. |
| 0:43.0 | But that didn't happen. |
| 0:44.0 | What had been better, for example, a general had stepped into this role. |
| 0:48.0 | I think yes, I, you know, in a way. |
| 0:50.0 | But those are, again, are not necessarily people who are going to be willing to do this. |
| 0:54.0 | I've just self-spoken generals asking them to step in and do this. |
| 0:58.0 | The answer was no. |
| 1:00.0 | So I stepped in and I've decided to step up and do it myself. |
| 1:05.0 | As far as for my qualifications, I am confident that my qualifications stand up quite well to any of the other candidates, especially on national security. |
| 1:15.0 | I'm Carrie Cordero and this is the LawFair podcast, September 17, 2016. |
| 1:22.0 | That was the voice of Evan McMullan, former CIA officer, former chief policy director for the House Republican Conference, and current independent candidate for president of the United States. |
| 1:34.0 | This has been an unusual election year for many reasons. |
| 1:38.0 | But one reason of interest to LawFair's listeners is that it has brought many people in the national security space who are accustomed to supporting policymakers into more visible public roles. |
| 1:50.0 | This includes many former national security leaders, scholars, and practitioners who have emerged from our usual non-political corner of the world and have entered the political arena, notably including Evan McMullan, who has launched an independent bid for the presidency. |
| 2:07.0 | I spoke with the candidate about how his experience in national security operations and policy influenced his decision to make a late independent bid for the presidency. |
| 2:18.0 | And how his career would shape his approach to the important national security issues facing the country. |
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