I considered feeling outraged when Republicans claimed President Joe Biden’s political attacks on Donald Trump somehow caused a deranged gunman to fire on the former president. I opted for hope instead. Political rhetoric is like mathematics. When you add two negative numbers you get a bigger negative. So far this political season, we’re decidedly in the red.
Before the assassination attempt on Trump, supporters of Biden were worried not just about his lucidity but also whether he’d be able to live up to his comeback-kid brand and overcome a disastrous debate performance against Trump. Now, however, by surviving a bullet wound during a rally, Trump has taken even Biden’s comeback persona away from him.
Biden stands no chance against a further-deified Trump. Ronald Reagan’s poll numbers increased by 8% after surviving the 1981 attempted assassination by John Hinckley. No amount of backslapping with NATO leaders, creating jobs or decline in border crossings can compete with candidate Trump now. Cult status trumps empirical evidence every time.
There is one move remaining for Biden, a path forward that could heal the country and elevate the president to the rank of Great Unifier.
Biden must, as soon as possible, deliver a national address from the Oval Office. He should start his speech by praising this country and its founding ideals, denouncing the animus and vitriol that led to an attack on Trump. Biden must remind Americans of what’s great about this country, how its people can demonstrate courage, reject division and come together to allow democracy to flourish.
The next words to come out of Biden’s mouth should be these: “I want to formalize my personal commitment to uniting the nation by calling on candidate Trump to join me in stepping down. New politicians with energy and vision must lead America.” Biden will tell the country he will release his delegates to permit the Democratic Party to select a different nominee. The acrimony surrounding the leading candidates and concerns about their age have clearly begun to compete with the greater interests of the country, Biden will explain.
Biden should call on Trump to take time to recover from the attempt on his life. The two leaders, Biden will say, can each serve the country in new capacities while supporting the future president, a next-generation leader who can transcend the country’s divide. Democrats and Republicans alike have the opportunity to unite in a history-defining moment, he’ll say, to choose humility, decency and unity as they embrace the future.
In this dream, it doesn’t really matter what Trump does in response to Biden’s speech. He’s been repositioned. Reconfigured into a wounded, angry elder. Of course, Trump will still be worshipped by many of his devoted supporters, but he’ll no longer enjoy the sense of magnetism and inevitability he has in this moment; he’ll cease to be the ascendant challenger. I wish him health and healing, but not in the Oval Office.
And since a girl can dream, the Democratic National Convention in August would become about country rather than party. Democratic strategists, I beg of you, don’t talk policy. You’ll never get a date to the prom that way. Appeal to our hearts. The hall should be draped in purple bunting, and purple balloons must rain down from the rafters. Both Democrats and Republicans should speak at the podium, so all Americans will feel seen and heard. And inspired.
Julie Garel (juliegarel@me.com) is a market researcher and communication strategist who lives in Bethesda.
