Dear President Trump,
I write to you as a Democrat, as a Jew, as an American, but more fundamentally as a fellow human being. The events of the last few days have revealed our national politics to be more dangerously turbulent than at any point in my adult lifetime. Not since the Vietnam War have Americans been so angrily divided, nor has partisan violence been so pervasive.
This is not entirely your fault. Structural changes in the global economy have caused profound inequities and widespread suffering, the impact of which was compounded by acute crises like the recession of 2008. Deepening confusion in the post-9/11 world order has added to a climate of uncertainty and fear. But your share of responsibility for the current crisis is considerable.
The blame lies in the signature brand of politics that brought you to the White House and continues to guide your presidency. Since being sworn in, you have flouted the conventions of your office. When "liberal elites" sputter with outrage at the egregiously racist, sexist, homophobic, or flagrantly mendacious things you say, you count that as a win. Your strategy is to make your political opponents look entitled, oversensitive, impotent and ridiculous, thus gratifying the anger and sense of grievance among your supporters. You are, in effect, a troll.
This strategy is very clever, because it is devilishly difficult to counter. If liberals express the requisite outrage at your profanities they fall into your trap and give you fuel for the passions of your base. But if they attempt to take a more measured, "reasonable" response, they dignify your "principles" far above their merits, and betray whatever constituency (usually a key community in the Democratic coalition) has been offended by your remarks. Yes, it is a very clever strategy, effectively boxing your opponents into a "lose-lose" position.
But as the recent attempted assassinations by postal bomb and today's tragic shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue demonstrate, we have all of us (that is, all Americans) been boxed into a lose-lose position by your nihilistic and irresponsible rhetoric. In a country of 300 million people, if you pursue a course of constantly stoking fear and rage, there will inevitably be deranged individuals who will translate that anger into violence. Does this make you personally to blame for the acts of these criminals? No.
It does, however, put you in a uniquely impotent position to provide leadership in the wake of these tragedies. You cannot serially and unabashedly insult people and then credibly offer them condolences in the wake of a violent assault. "I did not care about your dignity when I was hurling invective at you, but I feel very badly now that you have been physically attacked" might be a plausible position for an ordinary civilian, but it is utterly unacceptable from the President of the United States. Shame on you, sir.
Beyond abstract shame, the practical impact of your moral impotence is real. Without someone possessed of the moral authority to calm passions and mend breaches, the situation will continue to spin into angrier and angrier terrain. You have squandered any such authority, and seem uninterested in redeeming it to any degree. Your recent remarks regretting the manner in which the spate of attempted assassinations cut into your "momentum" suggest that you are incapable of viewing the situation in anything but purely political terms.
It is conventional in this sort of letter to end on an aspirational note, to suggest some remedial course that might lead out of the current impasse. I cannot offer such hopeful thoughts. Full and heartfelt contrition might do something to ameliorate the situation, but you have done such irreparable damage to your own public persona that even in the wake of such confessions you will never be able to lead in a way that is functional and civilly effective. The best and most credible course that you could take would be to resign, as that would be a fitting acknowledgement of the degree to which you have debased the public discourse.
I do not expect that such action will be forthcoming. I hope, in any case, that you will think about what I have written here, and try to keep these words in mind as you continue to helm our political life.
Sincerely,
Andrew Meyer
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