An echo from the Tennessean about Donald Trump's vocabulary
Opinion by David Plazas in the Tennessean
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| Governor Bredesen ~ rising above Donald Trump insults |
Trump mentioned Bredesen early into his remarks at his political (beer hall) rally at the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Nashville.
“I never heard of this guy, who is he? Who is he?” said Trump, before then declaring: “He's an absolute total tool of Chuck — of (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer.”
Bredesen, a Democrat and former two-term Tennessee governor, is running for U.S. Senate against Republican Congressman Marsha Blackburn, who introduced Trump.
The president was in town for a Blackburn (beer hall) fundraiser
Bredesen responded by staying civil, which does not mean ignoring an insult, but rather directly addressing the slight without becoming disagreeable.
These days, that is not easy to accomplish.
Bredesen’s campaign Press Secretary Alyssa Hansen issued this statement:
“Governor Bredesen has made it clear that if President Trump proposes something that’s good for Tennessee, then he’ll support it. Likewise, if the president suggests something that’s bad for Tennesseans, then he’ll oppose it. That’s what senators ought to do.
"Bottom line: Phil Bredesen is an independent thinker with a proven record of working with Democrats and Republicans.
That is too bad, because while Trump’s political rallies are notorious for being all about political theater, for exaggeration of facts or obsession with his extremities (“Look at these big, beautiful hands”), they are circuses that do not reflect real life and create the impression that a diatribe of insults is okay.
It is not. What the president says matters to the nation and to the world, and the president should set a tone that unites, that empowers, that inspires and that enlightens people.
There were several names that Trump did not mention, like:
Roseanne Barr (whose racist tweet caused the cancellation of her popular show); John McCain (though the president alluded to the Arizona senator's vote against repealing Obamacare);
James Shaw Jr., the hero of the Waffle House shooting; or
The heroes of the civil rights movement, such as Diane Nash or John Lewis, who in the 1960s defiantly sat at racially segregated lunch counters at the Woolworth (now Woolworth on Fifth), just a half mile from the auditorium.
The latter makes the conclusion of Trump’s speech so disappointing.
“We are taking back our country,” he said. “We are returning our country back to our great American patriots.”
What does that mean? Who does that mean? Does that mean returning to a time when Nash and Lewis had to fight for their right to get served at a lunch counter?
Our nation was designed to move forward and to help us rise above our basest instincts and away from those things, like slavery or segregation, that favored some and marginalized others.
The preamble to our Constitution is our north star: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Past presidents' quotes can also illuminate us on how we can elevate the tone.
“… the moral force of the Presidency is often stronger than the political force,” said President Lyndon Johnson.
“I never heard of this guy, who is he? Who is he?” said Trump, before then declaring: “He's an absolute total tool of Chuck — of (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer.”
Bredesen, a Democrat and former two-term Tennessee governor, is running for U.S. Senate against Republican Congressman Marsha Blackburn, who introduced Trump.
The president was in town for a Blackburn (beer hall) fundraiser
These days, that is not easy to accomplish.
Bredesen’s campaign Press Secretary Alyssa Hansen issued this statement:
“Governor Bredesen has made it clear that if President Trump proposes something that’s good for Tennessee, then he’ll support it. Likewise, if the president suggests something that’s bad for Tennesseans, then he’ll oppose it. That’s what senators ought to do.
"Bottom line: Phil Bredesen is an independent thinker with a proven record of working with Democrats and Republicans.
In Washington, he’ll vote in the best interests of Tennessee and Tennesseans.”
Even as there is a desire among people to improve civil discourse, it is not uncommon to get distracted, especially when the most powerful man in the world does not set the tone.
Even as there is a desire among people to improve civil discourse, it is not uncommon to get distracted, especially when the most powerful man in the world does not set the tone.
That is too bad, because while Trump’s political rallies are notorious for being all about political theater, for exaggeration of facts or obsession with his extremities (“Look at these big, beautiful hands”), they are circuses that do not reflect real life and create the impression that a diatribe of insults is okay.
It is not. What the president says matters to the nation and to the world, and the president should set a tone that unites, that empowers, that inspires and that enlightens people.
There were several names that Trump did not mention, like:
Roseanne Barr (whose racist tweet caused the cancellation of her popular show); John McCain (though the president alluded to the Arizona senator's vote against repealing Obamacare);
James Shaw Jr., the hero of the Waffle House shooting; or
The heroes of the civil rights movement, such as Diane Nash or John Lewis, who in the 1960s defiantly sat at racially segregated lunch counters at the Woolworth (now Woolworth on Fifth), just a half mile from the auditorium.
The latter makes the conclusion of Trump’s speech so disappointing.
“We are taking back our country,” he said. “We are returning our country back to our great American patriots.”
What does that mean? Who does that mean? Does that mean returning to a time when Nash and Lewis had to fight for their right to get served at a lunch counter?
Our nation was designed to move forward and to help us rise above our basest instincts and away from those things, like slavery or segregation, that favored some and marginalized others.
The preamble to our Constitution is our north star: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Past presidents' quotes can also illuminate us on how we can elevate the tone.
“… the moral force of the Presidency is often stronger than the political force,” said President Lyndon Johnson.
“You have to appeal to people’s best instincts, not their worst one,” said President Harry Truman.
We need our leaders from the mayor to the president to provide a selfless, civil leadership at a time when basic facts, history and institutions are under assault.
During her introduction of Trump, Blackburn did not say anything inflammatory, however, she was forced to be a bystander as Trump performed.
Then, the president introduced the members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation. When he mentioned Sen. Bob Corker, with whom he has clashed, some members of the crowd booed loudly.
Trump said nothing about it though it would have been a good time for the president to urge the audience to be touched by their better angels.
That might have dampened the emotion of the show, but it would have been the right thing to do.
David Plazas is the opinion and engagement director for the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.
We need our leaders from the mayor to the president to provide a selfless, civil leadership at a time when basic facts, history and institutions are under assault.
During her introduction of Trump, Blackburn did not say anything inflammatory, however, she was forced to be a bystander as Trump performed.
Then, the president introduced the members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation. When he mentioned Sen. Bob Corker, with whom he has clashed, some members of the crowd booed loudly.
Trump said nothing about it though it would have been a good time for the president to urge the audience to be touched by their better angels.
That might have dampened the emotion of the show, but it would have been the right thing to do.
David Plazas is the opinion and engagement director for the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.
* Phil Bredesen is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48th Governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in 2002 with 50.6% of the vote, and was reelected in 2006 with 68.0%. He previously served as the 66th Mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999. Bredesen is the founder of the HealthAmerica Corporation, which he sold in 1986. Since 2011, he has been chair of a firm that develops and operates solar powerstations.
Labels: Nashville Tennessee, Phil Bredesen
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