'Dark days ahead': Ex-WSJ editor warns time is running out to 'apply the brakes' to 'trainwreck' Trump

Former Wall Street Journal Washington Bureau Chief and Bloomberg Washington Executive Editor Al Hunt warned in a dire opinion column in The Messenger on Sunday that criminally indicted ex-President Donald Trump "is the only candidate that I think poses an existential threat to Democracy" even though Hunt has "covered presidential politics for more than half a century."

Next year's contest will "be one of the darkest races in memory and "is shrouded in several myths," Hunt explains. "One is that Joe Biden is the best candidate to save the country from Donald Trump: Actually, he may be among the more vulnerable. If another Democrat such as Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were the nominee, I believe she would beat Trump like a drum. The Republican myth is that Trump, who dominates GOP polls, is their best horse: Actually, he is a weak general election candidate. I have little doubt that former South Carolina governor and United Nationals [sic] ambassador Nikki Haley would pound a rival almost 30 years older."

Hunt fears that while "the Biden team may hope to take the high road and focus on his many accomplishments," Trump securing his party's nomination could result in a scenario in which the "bad drives out the good."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Hunt writes, "This isn't ideological: Ronald Reagan and others were far more conservative on economic, social, and national security matters. Trump has said — and shown — that he simply doesn't believe in democracy and that the Constitution should be ignored, if necessary, to give him the presidency. He has learned from his first term: He will try to dismantle civil service, overreach on executive actions, use the IRS and Justice Department to go after political opponents, disrupt international alliances, gut NATO, and embolden Vladimir Putin. There will be no Jim Mattis, John Kelly, or Gary Cohn to occasionally apply the brakes on Trump's darker impulses. There will only be loyalists and second-tier sycophants."

Hunt predicts that "Trump’s dominance of the Republican Party will deepen into semi-permanence" and that "The Republican Club on Capitol Hill can take down the pictures of Eisenhower, Bush, and Reagan" because "Trump doesn't like to share attention."

Moreover, although "Biden still is sharp and conversant in important policy matters," Hunt laments that "another four years of Biden looks good only compared to the unimaginable Trump return."

Hunt worries that time is running out to nip the accelerating "trainwreck" in the bud, especially since "there won't be a serious challenge to the president, despite rising fears in the party that in a race with a third-party candidate, even Cornel West, Trump today would be the favorite," adding, "If Biden unexpectedly pulls out, say October 20th, it's hard to find any Democratic politician, donor, or operative who thinks Kamala Harris would clear any field. Under this remote scenario, the top choice might be Governor Whitmer. The most ready to jump in is California Governor Gavin Newsom."

READ MORE: Trump to ditch Iowa evangelical gathering after GOP gov said 'voters expect him' to attend events

Hunt's full editorial is available at this link.