Rogers: Steinhardt must denounce Gov Florio’s attack on President Trump

By LT Steven Rogers

It’s easy to lead when the wind is at your back and things are going well.  But, the mark of true leadership is having the courage to stand up and speak the truth in the face of adversity.  Unfortunately, for New Jersey Republicans, our current state party chairman Doug Steinhardt has failed that test.

I am referring to a recent op-ed by former Democratic Governor Jim Florio. You remember him, right? Florio is the governor who taxed everything from telephone calls to toilet paper and spawned a conservative, grassroots movement that ran him out of office just a few years later.

Unknown to most, Governor Florio also happens to be a business partner and friend of Republican Chairman Doug Steinhardt.

There is an old saying, friendship is friendship and business is business. A saying Mr. Steinhardt needs to remember- especially the business is business part! 

In the recent op-ed, published in newspapers across New Jersey, Florio smeared President Trump, effectively calling him, among other things, a xenophobe, a racist, an autocrat, and dumb.  It was a particularly nasty and vile attack on a sitting President of the United States.  Surely, NJGOP Chairman Steinhardt stepped forward to defend our President, right?  Wrong!  Frankly, Steinhardt’s silence has been deafening.  He is supposed to be the leader of our party, but in this case, it appears his allegiance to his Democrat friend and business partner was more important.

As a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer, former member of the FBI National Joint Terrorism Task Force, and former member of the Donald J. Trump for President 2016 & 2020 Campaign Advisory Board, I have spent the better part of the last four years traveling around the country promoting and defending President Trump and celebrating his historic achievements in office. 

Unprecedented economic opportunity for all Americans, rebuilding our military, securing our border, getting tough on China, and being nominated three times for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to bring stability to the Middle East.  When the history books are written, that will be the legacy of this truly great President.  I am proud of that record and all Republicans should be.

The fact that I need to even write this op-ed is a travesty, but it needed to be said: Doug Steinhardt must immediately and publicly denounce Governor Florio’s attack on our President. 

As Republican State Party Chairman, Mr. Steinhardt has an obligation to the over 1.4 million Republicans in this state and nearly 1.9 million New Jersey residents who voted for Donald Trump in this election – a record number of votes for any Republican in the history of our state – to stand up and be heard.  Sadly, right now, his silence is deafening. 

Lt Steven Rogers is a former Nutley NJ Commissioner 2012-2020, Retired U.S. Military Intelligence officer, FBI National Joint Terrorism Task Force. He is presently President of Campaign 4 America, NJ non-profit.