Trump returns to Ariz. with divisive message
Donald Trump’s trip to Phoenix displayed the deep political divisions in our country and provided a painful demonstration of why he is not the person to heal that divide. His speech represented a missed opportunity for the president to rise above his pet peeves with the media and Barack Obama and speak to all Americans.
It was just another Trump campaign rally in Arizona. He did seven last year. But this is no longer the campaign. This rally offered a chance to show something different from Trump, who has struggled to grow into the job of being president of all the people.
The announcement Tuesday afternoon of Trump’s decision not to pardon Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio during this rally suggested the president learned something from the reaction to his equivocation after the violence in Charlottesville.
It was in line with his more restrained tone Monday when, while delivering a speech on Afghanistan, he said: “We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other.”
That’s the kind of talk a divided America needs from the president. It didn’t last long. He didn't deliver. Trump made it clear that he would eventually deliver an Arpaio pardon, just not on this night.
This president, who ran his campaign on anger, is probably incapable of delivering the grace notes necessary to heal America in times of racial division.
Vice President Mike Pence tried. He stressed unity and condemned racism.
And Trump’s message began by tracking the theme.
He talked about “respect for all of the people” and said “we are all on the same team.”
But apparently, the team does not include the media, which he singled out for a booing session just as he used to do during the campaign.
What followed was very much an usand-them message wrapped in protestations about how much he and his supporters are under siege by the elite.
A president truly committed to unity would not spend so much time attacking the media as “damned dishonest” and “fake news,” while trying to rewrite his own response to Charlottesville.
It was Trump himself who blamed “both sides” after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville turned deadly.
It is truly disturbing to see the president try to rewrite history and blame the messengers.
He stooped to petty insults and once again went on about the size of his crowds while diminishing his opponents.
This speech was not about unity, despite his insistence that his “movement was built on love.” It was about retrenching. It was about blaming others. It was about feeding the paranoia of his passionate followers. It was disturbing. The crowd cheered when he asked whether the people in the room liked “Sheriff Joe.”
The crowd cheered and chanted, and cheered again when Trump asked if Arpaio was prosecuted for doing his job.
He should have had a jury, but I think he is going to be just fine . . . but I won’t do it tonight,” he said. “Sheriff Joe can feel good.” Trump’s audience felt good. The rest of the country understands that Trump does not understand the impact of his callous disregard for the fact that Arpaio was convicted of disregarding a federal judge’s order to stop racially profiling Latinos.
If Trump came to Phoenix to inflame already-heated passions and further divided the country, he succeeded.
If he came to deliver a message of unity, he failed.