Former Vice President Mike Pence has published a chilling article in the Wall Street Journal about his effort to resist pressure from then-President Donald Trump to reject the Electoral College votes. It is a must-read piece of history.
I don't like the timing of the piece, which is clearly part of an effort by News Corp. to push Trump out of the 2024 presidential stakes. But it's the right forum for this kind of information, rather than the January 6 Committee.
Pence recounts the tragic moment in which he tried to advise Trump to accept defeat graciously and prepare for a comeback in 2024. According to Pence, Trump considered it but was impatient. Maybe he felt the future was uncertain.
I was reminded about a draft op-ed that I wrote, but never published, after the election in November 2020, when Trump had lost. I wanted to offer advice to Trump; I was convinced to withhold the piece, since that's not really our job.
But here are the relevant passages:
*Trump is likely on his way out. He has a chance of prevailing, but it is vanishingly small. Trump would have to overturn the result in not one state — a low-probability event under any circumstances — but in several states. He may prevail, for legal reasons, in Pennsylvania, where Democratic officials and the Democrat-dominated courts usurped the legislature’s power to set the rules for elections. But unless he can also erase Biden’s lead in several other states, Trump’s presidency will be over.
We tend to think of one-term presidents as unsuccessful. Trump, however, has been one of the most successful presidents in American history.
...
As he continues his legal challenges to the election results, he should prepare to close out his presidency in style. Trump should plan a series of new rallies in the heartland of America — a farewell tour in which he thanks his supporters, describes out his achievements, and lays out the future agenda for the Republican Party. He should campaign in Georgia, too, to help his party win the Senate runoffs there.
...
Finally, Trump should consider the ultimate twist: resigning in January, leaving Mike Pence to manage the transition to the new administration.
Aside from solving the awkward problem of having Trump acknowledge Biden as the winner, after an election in which Biden literally called the president a Nazi, there is an urgent reason for Trump to leave Pence in charge: Democrats will pursue Trump and his family with bogus accusations unless he is pardoned, and he cannot pardon himself.
Then, in early January, Trump should board Air Force One, fly to Palm Beach, and deliver one final speech to an admiring crowd. Then he should build his presidential library — one that can serve as an “America First” think tank, to promote the ideas of his administration into the future, and oppose Democrats’ efforts to write him and his voters out of history.
Go out in a blaze of glory, an American folk hero, a legend. And one day, a new generation will Make America Great Again.*
I did not really contemplate a 2024 run for Trump. But I did want him to preserve his legacy -- not just him, but for all Americans. Instead, he tarnished it on January 6th, and hurt himself and the people who supported him.
With his pointless attacked on Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) -- in the midst of a hurricane! -- Trump is hurting his legacy still, and risks undermining his own prospects while destroying the unity of the Republican Party.
I don't quite know how this ends. I don't know how the Republican Party solves the puzzle of Trump. What I do know is that what he is doing now is wrong, and continues the trail of poor decisions he has made since November 2020.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
