Could Trump become the great unifier?

By Michael Brown, Op-ed Contributor Tuesday, July 16, 2024

In answer to a question posed by Jake Tapper on CNN on October 25, 2015 as to whether his presidency would result in an era of bipartisanship, then candidate Donald Trump answered, “I absolutely think so I will be a great unifier for our country.”

Could it be that, fresh off his seemingly miraculous escape from death this past Saturday, Trump could become that man? Is it possible?

In that same interview with Tapper, Trump said, “The level of hatred between Republicans and Democrats was unbelievable. The level of — I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m going to unify. This country is totally divided. Barack Obama has divided this country unbelievably. And it’s all, it’s all hatred, what can I tell you. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

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Unfortunately, for a myriad of reasons, the level of hatred of which Trump spoke has only intensified, both during and after his presidency.

Evidence of this can be found in two comments responding to my Facebook post urging everyone on all sides to “tone things down.”

This one came from the right, from Dave: “The truth should be told just like Jesus told the truth about the Pharisees. The democrat party including Obama and Biden have demonized the right. Now they say ‘prayers.’ Liars. They been attacking Trump for 8 years with Russia collusion. They weaponized the justice department against truth. The refuse to give protection to RFK Jr. even though 2 family members were assassinated, and they tried to pass a bill to strip Trump of secret service protection. They all been trying to kill him off. Think what they want to do to you. They are liars with their false ‘prayers.’ Hypocrites and sons of serpents.”

Again, this was in response to my post calling for us to measure our words and ask ourselves what kinds of emotions we were stirring up. Apparently, my appeal fell on deaf ears. (For the record, Dave’s post was deleted.)

Mick’s post, coming from the left, was even worse. He wrote (and note that I referenced the shooting of Congressman Steve Scalise in my post): “scasleeze: Ewe are such a loser, and a true idiot. A maga boy apparently shot at your czar, dummy. Did ewe pay this boy to do ewer bidding--Scum. And then blame the great PRESIDENT BIDEN. True, Dirty Diaper Don Gambozo is a rapist, thief, fraud, a close friend with jeffrey epstein, and maxwell — great bed pals, a traitor, putin's bootlicker, and dirty diaper don will soon be in prison. And ewe know this felon and rapist will not be elected--this human scum belongs in prison, as many of his sycophant parasites are now in prison--too--and soon to be joined by many others. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. LOSERS--like ewe-imp.”

What a perfect illustration of the very vile rhetoric I was denouncing. (For the record, Mick’s comment was deleted, and his account was blocked.)

Surely, we can all do better than this, regardless of our moral, spiritual, and political convictions.

As for Trump living up to his 2015 promise of being a great unifier, the Washington Examiner reported that the former president has “completely” rewritten his RNC speech. Speaking to the Examiner’s Salena Zito, Trump said, “The speech I was going to give on Thursday was going to be a humdinger. Had this not happened, this would’ve been one of the most incredible speeches ... Honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now.”

He explained, “This is a chance to bring the whole country, even the whole world, together. The speech will be a lot different, a lot different than it would’ve been two days ago.”

How amazing that would be! Are we allowed to dream for a moment and then turn that dream into prayer — fervent, heartfelt prayer?

The fact is that not only has Trump, along with his wife and kids and grandkids, been dramatically impacted by the weekend’s events, but the whole nation is reeling right now. And many Americans, on all sides of the political divide, are calling for an end to hostility and a spirit of unity. (President Biden has called for the same.)

Does it mean that our deep differences simply disappear? Not a chance. Who among us is willing to give up our deeply felt, passionately held, moral and spiritual convictions? Not me, and probably not you. But we can hold to our views without all the inflammatory rhetoric, without labeling all our opponents snakes and vipers and demons, and without likening our leaders to Hitler.

In fact, other countries do that very thing, as some friends from abroad have told me, saying that they can sit with their friends over coffee and casually discuss their political differences. They were shocked to come here and see how different things were.

As for the possibility of Trump changing, not in terms of him being a fighter or holding to certain views, but as to his demeanor and conduct, perhaps it will take this extraordinary brush with death to get his attention.

In response to the report from the Examiner about Trump’s speech, my wife, Nancy, texted me saying, “Yes I saw that. Hopefully the new speech will be a humdinger in a different way and also hoping he doesn't backslide!”

She followed up with, “GOD ..... get a hold of this man!!!!!”

I wrote back, “You know how hard it is for me to learn certain lessons? Well, multiply that a million times for Trump. As you say, maybe THIS will finally change him.”

She replied, “May God change him for good!! Meaning a DEEP, complete change into another man!! God is able!”

Yes, all things are possible with Him!

Perhaps Donald Trump could be one of the greatest leaders in our nation’s history, remembered with awe and respect by Democrats and Republicans alike. May it be so!

Let us pray like never before for God’s best for him and for our nation. God is able!