Being at the Republican National Committee convention in Milwaukee this week to witness the first public appearance of former President Donald Trump following the failed assassination attempt was one of my most emotional campaign experiences.
Thank God Trump, who was just a mere inch or so away from death, is alive and well. Trump’s work on earth is not done.
The shooter was averted in his aim when Trump slightly turned his head. That bullet was meant to kill the former president. Thankfully, the bullet hit Trump’s ear. The would-be assassin’s other shots unfortunately killed one person and gravely injured two others. Prayers go out to their families.
Biden is still clinging onto the Democratic nomination for president. Altering the Democrat Party rules on the timing of primaries and the national convention have helped Biden politically. He makes the correct moves when it affects him directly, but loses that charm when addressing the needs of Americans.
After all, the often angry Biden brags about getting 14 million votes in his primary while forgetting to mention that millions of Democrats voted “present.” In other words when competing against “himself,” Biden still could not get the entire Democratic vote.
This is comparable to the “challenged” primary season of two other failed former Democrat presidents who either ran for re-election and lost miserably, President Jimmy Carter and President Lyndon Johnson who stepped down to allow his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, to run and eventually lose.
The letter “D” appropriately does more than just represent “Democrat.” It also is symbolic of the kind of political party it is today. The D also represents a party in denial, a delusional party, a disingenuous party, a defiant party, a party full of distortions, and a deceptive party. All while being a very angry party.
Biden should see the light or strike a deal with the responsible Democratic leaders for a graceful departure and help prevent the mauling of the Democratic party up and down the ballot.
But who am I to give advice? I didn’t even have my fellow Yalie, author of a compelling life story, a Marine, and a highly intelligent and articulate young man – Ohio Senator J.D. Vance – as the “leading candidate” for vice president. He is a solid choice, however.
Biden has merely used his vice president (Kamala Harris) as an insurance policy to cause pause for any attempt to remove him. He has been quick to remind people of this in subtle ways. Biden has always professed that you do not have to be better than the “Almighty,” just better than the “alternative.” But is that rapidly changing?
Is Trump a threat to democracy? Maybe that was a good argument in 2016 when we had no idea what a Trump presidency would be like, but not now.
It is like saying in the middle of their careers that Willie Mays, Michael Jordan, and Tom Brady should not be allowed to play their respective sports.
Trump was president, the top political position in the land. Mays climbed the highest of hills as a top baseball player. Jordan and Brady were at the apex of professional basketball and football respectively. They all had much more to give to the public (as in Trump’s case).
You may not like the way they played, the team they played for, or their persona, but you cannot say they could not play the game.
To try to convince Americans otherwise is being truly deceptive and disingenuous. Then to say that if they did play the “game,” they would destroy the game is even more ludicrous.
The election should be on their records. For example, with Trump we had no wars, low inflation, and low gas prices. On Biden’s watch we had 600,000 COVID related deaths; on Trump’s watch 424,000. During Biden’s tenure we have also seen hundreds of thousands deaths from Fentanyl. During Trump’s presidency, our international foes greatly feared and respected America, while Biden merely makes “friends” with NATO. Under Trump, we had a far more secure Mexican border. For all the above, there is no comparison.
In my first run for Congress I was told by pollsters, hours before my last debate and just a few days before Election Day, that I should prepare a concession speech. They had me losing by eight points, plus or minus four points.
That is where God stepped in, again, in my life. I even missed my last debate. When I resurfaced later that night however, I announced the reason for my absence. I was at the hospital with my wife who we thought had taken ill. Wrong. She was not sick at all. I announced live on the 11 p.m. news that I learned that my wife was pregnant – with complications.
My opponents reacted by saying, “We’ll see in a few months if it is a girl, a boy, or a ploy.” Sounds like something a Democrat would say.
Well, the people of Connecticut apparently did not like that comment. We won by five points, a 13-point swing in less than four days.
So, seeing Trump walk into the RNC convention with a bandage over his ear, after having narrowly escaped death, was only surpassed by the surprise announcement of my wife’s pregnancy on statewide television. Today my “election” daughter is an accomplished lawyer and at its current trajectory the Trump-Vance ticket appears headed to the White House.
Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England’s first Black member of the House. Host: podcast “We Speak Frankly.” Author: “With God, For God, and For Country.” @GaryFranks/Tribune News Service
