Ronald Reagan's daughter has a stone-cold suggestion about Trump and national tragedies
Presidential historian Michael Beschloss told The Washington Post on Monday that "almost any president of my lifetime would have canceled the campaign rally" President Trump held Saturday night, hours after a gunman murdered 11 Jewish congregants inside their Pittsburgh synagogue. "Even at a time of national crisis like this," you see Trump "dividing in order to conquer," he added. "He has shown himself completely incapable of healing our wounds." Presidential daughter Patti Davis made a similar argument in an op-ed in the Post on Sunday night.
Davis pointed to moments when her father, Ronald Reagan, and his successors Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama offered "comfort and solace to a grieving nation," and "we didn't doubt that their hearts were breaking along with ours." Trump, she added, "will never offer comfort, compassion, or empathy to a grieving nation. It's not in him. When questioned after a tragedy, he will always be glib and inappropriate. So I have a wild suggestion: Let's stop asking him. His words are only salt in our wounds."
CNN's Jake Tapper asked Davis about her op-ed Monday evening. After watching Trump's first remarks to reporters after the Pittsburgh tragedy, she said, "I thought, Why are you even asking him? You know, there's no law that says that reporters have to question the president while he's walking to the helicopter or to the plane. What if you just don't ask him at times like this, and don't give him that opportunity to literally rub salt in our wounds?"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Tapper told Davis that George Conway, Kellyanne Conway's husband, had retweeted part of her op-ed, and Davis seemed surprised, agreeing with Conway that Trump doesn't have anything inside to communicate. "At some point, we do show what is inside of us, and Donald Trump has never shown compassion, ever," she said. "He didn't just burst on the scene — he's been in the public eye for over 40 years."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump gets $289M break, first criminal trial date
Speed Read The former president's fraud bond has been reduced to $175 million from $464 million
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US-Israel rift widens after UN cease-fire resolution
Speed Read The U.S. declined to veto a U.N. resolution calling for a two-week "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Jersey first lady exits race to replace Menendez
Speed Read Tammy Murphy dropping out paves the way for Rep. Andy Kim to become the state's next senator
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia blames Ukraine for deadly ISIS Moscow attack
Speed Read Putin has ignored the Islamic State's claim of responsibility for the concert hall shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump-RNC pact puts Trump legal bills ahead of GOP
Speed Read The former president has struck a deal with the Republican National Committee to put donations toward his legal bills
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Vietnam president resigns amid scandal
Speed Read Vietnam loses its second president in two years as Vo Van Thuong steps down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Texas migrant law in limbo after Supreme Court OK
Speed Read The law has been blocked again, mere hours after the Supreme Court allowed the state to arrest migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cubans rally for 'power and food' in rare protests
Speed Read The protests came after 18-hour rolling blackouts and food supply shortages
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published