Ingraham: Time for the Uniter-in Chief
President Trump seems to be projecting a different dimension of himself.
Over the weekend, President Trump visited fire-ravaged California accompanied by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom. The president was clearly moved by the extent of the devastation.
He said, “Nobody would've ever thought this could have happened. So, the federal government is behind you. We are all behind each other. I think we can say truly, Jerry, right? Jerry and I have been speaking and Gavin and I have now gotten to know each other and were all going to work together and we will do a real job. But this is very sad to see. As far as the lives are concerned, nobody knows quite yet. They are up to a certain number but we have a lot of people that are unaccounted for. I think we are all in the same path.”
What was unexpected was how Governor Brown and Governor-elect Newsom responded to their day with the president. And of course his personal interest in the tragedy.
Governor Brown said this, “I really appreciate the president being here and putting the focus and the spotlight on probably the worst tragedy that California has ever seen.”
Governor-elect Newsom said, “There is [sic] no politics being played here. The expectation going forward that the federal government is not just going to be here today with all of you but tomorrow and over the course of the next few years as we rebuild.
Well, sure the cynics are going to say this is all just a show because Brown and Newsom, they know they are going to need the federal government's help to recover from the worst fires in the state's history, but still, it was nice to see.
In the last few weeks, notwithstanding some ill-advised tweets about Adam Schiff's name and retired Navy Admiral William McRaven, President Trump seems to be projecting a different dimension of himself. Understanding now that he has the Democratically-controlled house and he has to contend with that, might President Trump be trying a new approach to governance? Should he?
Will this change minds and grow support for his economic agenda? It's clearly working. But beyond all of that, wouldn't it be good for the country? I get the sense, maybe you do, too, that Americans have undoubtedly grown weary of how politics has infected so much of our daily lives. Not that it's not important, it obviously is or I wouldn't be doing this every night.
But it's not everything. And it shouldn't be a blood sport every single day.
The president doesn't need to swing at every pitch. Nor does he need to respond to every unfair criticism no matter how vile it is. Not even when it comes from self-absorbed media figures.
Now, this Thursday is supposed to be a time when we all gather around the table to give thanks. Not to get stuffing thrown at us by Cousin Helen or Uncle Joe who is in a white rage about the president's views on climate change or something.
And maybe, just maybe, the president has decided to modestly recalibrate his approach to his job and find places where both parties can agree even as the critics persist.
Now, believe me, I am not saying he should change his goals on core issues like trade or immigration. He is doing great on both.
But he could be changing how he pursues them. I think the president needs more happy, not more anxious, voters going into 2020.
A recent Morning Consult poll showed that 64 percent of voters believe the media have divided the country while 56 percent -- not an insignificant number -- blame the president.
Now, it's not surprising that nearly two-thirds of Americans blame the press given how biased and how completely unbalanced most of them are, and they have been towards this president since the beginning:
Now, the vitriol from both the hard left and the media and yes, there is some overlap there, is spewed even as President Trump has attempted bipartisan outreach on issues such as immigration reform. -- Remember, the Democrats rejected it last February.
You know, others might have responded to the political stonewalling by the Democrats with a "to hell with the whole bipartisan thing." But not Trump. He is undeterred, trying to find common ground, announcing his support last week of an issue that Democrats once heartily clamored for. I'm talking about criminal justice reform.
Here’s what the president said last week at the White House as he spoke about the “First Step Act”:
“Americans from across the political spectrum can unite around prison reform legislation that will reduce crime while giving our fellow citizens a chance at redemption, so if something happens and they make a mistake, they get a second chance at life.”
This got about as much coverage as his visit to California this weekend. In other words, not that much.
Not one Senate Democrat attended the White House announcement which I found to be a disgrace. This political slight was not lost, by the way, on Senator Cory Booker's home paper.
Monday, the Star-Ledger wrote the following, "Booker, who has made a huge issue about justice reform, should have gone to the White House and showed bipartisanship. Democrats can engage with the White House and show independence at the same time."
Apparently not.
The left's new strategy is to completely deny that Trump has accomplished anything positive and to deny him any cooperation even on issues where they agree.
Now, how sick is that?
Only a few fair-minded liberals like CNN's Van Jones, who worked with the White House, including Jared Kushner, on this bill, actually celebrated the accomplishment.
Here’s how Jones put it: “President Trump said listen, if this is going to make streets safer, if it's going to give people a fair chance, if some of these forgotten men and women, some of them are in Appalachia as well. Let's do something. And so listen, I think you got to give him some credit. I will give him a salute and an applause.”
And for that statement of support, Jones was lacerated.
Professor Crystal Marie Fleming tweeted "Give the white supremacist misogynist his due, Van Jones says."
Others were equally unhinged.
Michael Harriet at The Root saying no, Van Jones, I do not have to give the racist-in-chief his due.
So much for common cause.
By the way, for all you looking to the Obama presidency through these rose-colored glasses today, this is what the country felt about the state of America six years into Obama's presidency: Fifty-five percent said Obama had done more to divide than unite the country. Well? Now, this is something the president at the time said he had to admit when he gave his final state of the union address.
“It's one of the few regrets of my presidency that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.”
Well, are things today worse? Maybe. And both folks from both parties, they could do better, including the president. Including me. All of us, I guess. And we should celebrate though the president because he is trying to reach across the aisle. Criminal justice reform is just one of the examples. And just because haters on the left are going to ridicule him or belittle the president's efforts, it's no reason for the president to back off.
His trip to California, prison reform, his work to lift the standard of living of minority communities, they’re all positive signs.
There are those who will work overtime to deflect and demean any efforts by this president to broaden his appeal. And most importantly, to broaden the appeal of his policies that, again, are working.
I say let the critics do what the critics are going to do. This will make them look petty and just purely partisan.
Reagan appealed to women and minorities by smiling through the storm, always keeping the focus on the lives of everyday Americans.
Trump calls them “the forgotten people,” their families, their jobs, their neighborhoods, their faith.
By taking the focus off himself and keeping it on the horizon of possibility, the president will unmask the real dividers and give voters more of what they are hungering for: unity through strength.
Adapted from Laura Ingraham’s monologue on “The Ingraham Angle” on November 20, 2018.
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