The results of the last presidential election knocked the wind out of a lot of people, some of whom are still in denial about the outcome. Kind of like Trump was from 2020 to 2024. Perhaps it’s not so much denial as exhaustion. What the ex-president put us all through not just during his first term, but the four years afterward, has worn us out.
And that’s why the ratings for MSNBC are down. Because listeners just can’t face the prospect of hearing again and again how the country will fall into disarray after Jan. 20, 2025. They no longer wish to hear the dire forecasts of Trump critics. Too much already. Let’s take a moment to take a long breath and gather our thoughts.
Like so many others. The news has left us — played out, sucker-punched. There seems to be too many pieces to reassemble. How did the working class become so disaffected, so reluctant to move forward, so disillusioned? Perhaps they had just become dissatisfied with the way things were going. A changing world that seemed to become more threatening, more out of control with each passing day.
I thought the election should have been about character. But I’m naïve. The ex-president returned to office with the goal of retribution at the top of his agenda — and to see if that immunity thing would keep him out of jail. This won’t make him a great president, not even a good one. He may be able to lead half the country — his MAGA minions — but not all of it, simply because he’s a polarizing personality, a fellow without many enviable traits.
Remember Lincoln’s second inaugural speech just before the end of the Civil War in which he reminded us that what we needed to mend the divide was forgiveness? ”With malice toward none, and charity for all.”
Trump has again surrounded himself with sycophants, unqualified partisan yes-men who have neither the experience, idealism, nor vision to move us forward. Trump could turn things around, surprise us and become a good president. If only he were able to look back and see what he did wrong and look ahead to see what he should do right. Lincoln had the answer. It’s not rocket science. It just takes character.
Michael O’Looney
Talent
