President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will address the nation Saturday at 8 p.m. ET with a post-election message of unity in a nation that has been cleaved in two–not just during the reign of the Trump administration, but going back at least 28 years to the Clinton administration.
Biden and Harris face an uphill battle to achieve that unity, and while I agree with the goal of having Americans again rally as one, I do not support the notion that we, as victors, should have empathy for the people who supported Trump who feel lost with the defeat of their candidate.
The reason is simple: they did not just support Trump. By voting for Trump, they endorsed Trumpism, which is a fetid mix of hatred, bigotry, conspiracy theories and greed. Trumpism undermines faith in our democracy and the rule of law. Trumpism puts an idol above our Constitution.
The continuing rhetoric of the Trump campaign and Trump supporters that this election was somehow “stolen” by apolitical poll workers apparently coordinating with Deep State operatives demonstrates how little respect Trumpians have for our Republic.
Four years ago, after Hillary Clinton lost the Electoral College, I went to a football tailgate hosted by a friend of mine who is an avid republican and Trump supporter. I walked up to him and extended my hand. “Congrats,” I said, “your guy won.” He shook my hand and said “Thanks.”
When the BLM movement swept across the country, he was one of many who told me, “Fuck your feelings!” or “Fuck their feelings!” while proclaiming that he wasn’t a racist.
Needless to say, in the age of COVID, there won’t be a tailgate this year where he might tell me congratulations on the Biden victory. I wouldn’t expect that he would, nor would I expect to get a text or an email from him with a similar sentiment.
And there you have the problem with Trumpism. I see no reason to immediately reach out with an olive branch to Trump supporters because they have no intention of understanding why Trump and Trumpism lost. They cling to Trumpism like a baby blanket they have no intention of giving up.
It’s not that they won’t recognize that Biden won the Presidency; it’s that they cannot accept that Trump didn’t.
I can explain why Clinton lost in 2016: she wasn’t a great campaigner; she took certain key swing states for granted; she was profoundly unpopular with some voters, including some Democrats; and there was a long-running coordinated campaign of lies and conspiracies against her by the Trump campaign, republicans and right-wing media.
If you talk to a Trump supporter, they will not accept that Trump and Trumpism was rejected. Instead of Biden supporters reaching out to understand the sadness of Trump supporters, it’s time for Trump supporters to understand why Trump lost. They must admit that the policies of Trump were abhorrent enough to spur a likely 78 million Americans (when the count is done) to vote against Trump.
We can reach out to some in the GOP and some conservatives, like the members of The Lincoln Project and even Mitt Romney, who rejected the cultural evils of Trumpism but hold traditional conservative views–as much as we disagree with them.
We should not reach out to or sympathize with a Trump voter who does not reject Trumpism until they acknowledge *why* Trump was rejected. It’s not a matter of “Fuck Your Feelings.” It’s a matter of “Fuck Your Hatred.”
The Biden-Harris ticket should try to unite the nation. It’s an admirable goal. But it should not do so at the cost of accepting hatred and intolerance.