KT McFarland: Chaos will reign if Trump, Biden don't unify America
Former deputy national security adviser debates FOX News correspondent-at-large Geraldo Rivera about Trump impeachment
My conservative friends believe the greatest threat to America comes from President-elect Joe Biden and the far-left radicals supporting him. Many Democrats believe the greatest threat to our country comes from President Trump — even after he leaves office Wednesday — and his most ardent supporters.
I believe the greatest threat to America comes from within — from the political civil war we are waging against each other. The right demonizes and distrusts the left, and the left does the same to the right. Republicans and Democrats, too, often go from treating each other as adversaries to treating each other as mortal enemies.
Today half the country distrusts the other half. Many people don’t just disagree with political opponents — they hate them.
Millions of Americans believe Trump is an incompetent and evil president who should never have been elected. Millions of Trump supporters feel the same way about Biden, and agree with Trump’s claims about election fraud costing the president reelection.
BIDEN TRIES TO GO FROM NORMALCY TO RELEVANCY
We can’t go on like this. The horrific riot at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 — which both Democrats and Republicans, including President Trump, have denounced — shows what can happen when political differences escalate into violence. The same thing happened during the summer, when leftist radicals rioted in cities across America, looting stores and setting fires.
So how can we fix the Great American Divide ripping our country apart? How can we restore trust in our system of government and laws, and in each other?
Pro-Trump protesters clash with police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by the U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021. Picture taken January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (Reuters)
There are only two people who can carry out this vital task: Donald Trump and Joe Biden. But they will have to step outside their comfort zones to do it.
Trump is a fighter who describes himself as a counterpuncher. When attacked, he can’t resist the bait and punches back harder, always looking for a brawl.
But now Trump needs to hang up his boxing gloves and tell his half of the country this: Whatever you may think about the election, my presidency is over. But the movement I launched is not. I will continue to fight for you by continuing to advocate for the policies that Made America Great Again during my administration. I hope you will join me in supporting a new generation of leaders.
Joe Biden is an amiable go-along-get-along politician. He needs to tell his half of the country to back off and oppose conviction of Trump at an impeachment trial because that will only divide our country further. He needs to tell his supporters to tear up their blacklists and stop seeking revenge against people who served our country in the Trump administration.
And Biden needs to tell the Big Tech giants that control social media, along with left-wing journalists, to stop censoring those they disagree with. In addition, he needs to stand up to the radical socialists in his party and govern from the center.
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I know how hard it is for President Trump’s supporters to move on. But in every election, somebody loses. We are now past the point where we must all admit that the Trump presidency is rapidly drawing to a close and accept that Joe Biden will become president Wednesday, no matter how unhappy this makes us.
I have plenty of grievances against President Trump’s opponents. I was collateral damage in the Russia hoax, hounded by the president’s enemies and the liberal media. I saw my career destroyed, reputation ruined, and savings depleted by legal expenses as I defended myself against crimes my accusers knew I did not commit.
Despite all this, I am willing to stand down. If we continue to demand an eye for an eye, we will all be blind. We will destroy ourselves if we remain mired in the past, consumed by bitterness and revenge.
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Frankly, it’s in the self-interest of both Trump and Biden to call a truce.
Our outgoing president should want history to remember him for his stunning achievements that resulted in job creation, economic growth, tax cuts, deregulation, a strengthened military, foreign policy and peace agreements, energy independence, Operation Warp Speed and much more.
But if President Trump continues to complain about a rigged election and other grievances, he will be remembered as a man who cared more about himself than our country — a sore loser who urged his supporters to fight on when all hope was lost.
For Biden it’s a different calculation. More than 74 million Americans voted for Trump in the November election. And while Biden got over 81 million votes, he can’t deny the strong support Trump enjoyed. In addition, Republican candidates all across the country ran on Trump’s policies and made historic gains in state elections and in the U.S. House.
If Biden follows the course laid out by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, social media censors, and his rabid supporters shrieking continuously against Trump and Republicans, it will only widen the political civil war we’re waging. And it will guarantee Republican victories in elections for the House and Senate in 2022 and the White House in 2024.
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Both Trump and Biden need to seize the opportunity stop fighting each other and urge their supporters to work with the other side to solve the great problems our nation faces as the deadly coronavirus pandemic rages on.
Trump needs to seize this opportunity to guarantee his legacy. Biden needs to seize it to guarantee his future. And both need to seize it for the good of America and the American people.