Chris Gibson: Trump fails country, must condemn bigotry in no uncertain terms
Things are definitely not OK. The events this past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia have shocked, angered and saddened the nation. Innocent lives were lost and many others were wounded in the domestic terrorist attack and other incidents of violence over those two days. Even now, Americans are still having a hard time comprehending what happened and finding a way forward.
In moments like these, leadership can make all the difference. We were all counting on President Donald Trump to help us understand what happened, condemn by name the racist organizations involved, mourn the losses, and bring us together to heal. He utterly failed us.
As a country, we are far from perfect. But the ideals expressed at the very outset of our nation in the Declaration of Independence were truly aspirational and represented the kind of Republic we wanted to be even if we weren’t yet. A place where all have the possibility of a flourishing life and where each of us are treated equally before the law. Over the years there has been much progress towards those ideals.
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This past weekend has set us back decades and shaken our confidence that we will fully overcome our differences.
The starting point for healing must begin with some important facts. Last century we fought a difficult war against the Nazis whose racist ideology and warlike nature represented an existential threat to our freedoms and cherished way of life. In the process, many Americans lost their lives and others suffered life-altering wounds, but those sacrifices were not in vain. We fought abject evil and prevailed.
The century before that, in the South the KKK formed when the conventional fighting of the Civil War ended, striving to undermine Reconstruction and Unification efforts by terrorist attacks and insurgent activities. The KKK then and now, like the Nazis, is pure evil desiring to construct society on racial and ethnic grounds where African-Americans, Jews, Catholics and others they deem undesirable are relegated to inferior status with their natural rights threatened. Such a diabolical design is completely anathema to American values and our highest aspirations.
For those reasons, in the aftermath of Charlottesville we needed President Trump to provide moral clarity. He needed to speak to the nation in clear terms that while Americans have freedom of thought and expression, we as a people categorically condemn neo-Nazi and Klansmen values and completely reject their racist schemes. President Trump’s appearance of defending the gathering of racist organizations, who only days earlier openly chanted anti-Semitic and Nazi verses as they marched with torches throughout Charlottesville, has emboldened them. One of their leaders, David Duke, applauded the president’s words from Tuesday’s press conference.
We are in unchartered waters. We live in a Republic founded on the commitment to civilian control of the military. The leadership of the military completely supports that fundamental tenet. Yet sensing the void following Tuesday, our nation’s highest-ranking military officers stepped forward to exercise the moral leadership lacking in their commander-in-chief. Each of the Service Chiefs in an unprecedented action, tweeted in the clearest terms their Services’ rejection of racist ideologies. It is worth mentioning that it was the military’s integration of African-American soldiers in 1948 at President Harry S. Truman’s direction that played an instrumental role in helping our country take a giant step forward towards racial justice and equality. By speaking out against racism this week, the Joint Chiefs protected our country’s values and the integrity of their troops. Their actions were necessary and justified, but let’s hope for the future of American civil-military relations we don’t have to repeat this kind of military involvement in domestic politics. For those norms to work properly everyone must perform their jobs and that begins with stronger presidential leadership.
Setting aside Charlottesville for the moment, when surveying the economic landscape there are some encouraging signs for the American people. Chief among them, we may be on the verge of significant economic growth that portends wage increases for the middle class not seen in decades. Certainly, that would be welcomed. But make no mistake about it, if we don’t find a way to properly heal from this incident – none of that will matter.
As painful as this may be for President Trump, because of the confusion he sowed at Tuesday’s press conference — he needs yet another reset. He must go before the American people and clarify that neo-Nazis, Klansmen and all racist ideologies are condemned. Their bigoted ideas are outside the bounds of the spirited debate we are proud of in this country that occurs between conservatives and progressives and everyone in between. Pointing to previous statements of denouncement simply isn’t enough. Providing moral clarity is a responsibility that comes with the privilege of leadership and the office of the presidency.
To support this highest national priority and to help us come together, President Trump should take some concrete steps. First, to express his personal condolences he should host at the White House the Heyer family and the families of those police officers who died in the helicopter crash. Second, the president should convene a national bipartisan commission on racial relations with the mission to identify actions that will strengthen the fabric of our communities and begin bringing all Americans together. Quite frankly, we probably should have done that after Ferguson. Unfortunately, it was only done then at the state level. Let’s make it a national effort now. If President Trump makes this a personal priority, it could make a significant positive difference. He should consider appointing former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush as the co-leaders and fill the commission with Americans from all walks of life.
Here’s the larger point — without leadership, this will not get better. In fact, it’s likely to get worse, and possibly much so. We simply can’t allow that to happen.
Chris Gibson is the former U.S. Representative for New York's 19th congressional district, serving as a Republican. Prior to Congress, he spent 29 years in the military and served four combat tours in Iraq. He is the Stanley Kaplan Distinguished Visiting Professor of American Foreign Policy at Williams College and the author of the forthcoming book, "Rally Point: Five Tasks to Unite the Country and Revitalize the American Dream," which will be published by Twelve Books in October.