Some foreign policy experts have been wary about joining Mr. Trump out of concern that they will have to answer for controversial policies that he sometimes seems to develop on the fly. Although there is potential upside to signing up with a candidate who is on the rise, there are also risks to reputation.
“It’s always surprising when a member of our relatively tightly knit community is willing to sacrifice their reputation to stand with someone like Donald Trump,” said Danielle Pletka, senior vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
Peter D. Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University, signed a letter from top Republican national security leaders objecting to Mr. Trump earlier this month and said he was confounded by the advisers that the candidate ultimately came up with.
“I think that normally, the front-runner for a Republican presidential campaign, by March of the campaign year, has assembled a team that is more distinguished than this,” said Dr. Feaver, who was a national security adviser in the George W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. “I think this suggests that he might be straining to assemble a list.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member