Everything Will Be Politicized

But how we react to that is up to us

Photo by Yaoqi on Unsplash

The contrast could not have been more stark.

President Biden was in Los Angeles last last week, having canceled what was to be a final overseas trip to the Vatican to meet with the Pope, in order to monitor the federal response to the wildfires that are consuming large portions of the city. At a fire station in Santa Monica on Thursday, the president announced he would sign an emergency declaration to put the full weight of the federal government behind the firefighting efforts.

Biden assured Californians that “We are with you, we’re not going anywhere.” And with his trademark compassion, he added, “To the firefighters and first responders, you are heroes.”

Meanwhile, on Truth Social, the person who is destined to bookend Biden in history was name-calling, lying, and blaming California’s Democratic governor for the catastrophe. Donald Trump accused Gov. Gavin Newsom (whom he called “Newscum”) of being responsible for the fires because he failed to sign an imaginary water restoration declaration. Newsom’s communications director clarified matters:

There is no such document as the water restoration declaration—that is pure fiction. The Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.

Biden is doing what he can to support the people of Los Angeles, but he is wrong when he assures them that he’s not going anywhere. Donald Trump assumes responsibility for the federal government in one week.

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You may recall that I have pledged not to dwell too much on Trump’s behavior. Why, then, have I chosen to write about Trump’s selfish and infantile reaction to the tragedy unfolding in Southern California?

In part, it is out of concern for family and friends living in or near the evacuation zones, and for the many hundreds of thousands who at a time of great uncertainty and loss will be dependent for assistance on someone who views them as political opponents from a blue state to be sadistically tossed aside.

In part, it’s because in one week we will all be Angelenos, and we have to get ready. At this moment of transition, as difficult as it may be, there can be value in acknowledging that we are losing something important to the human condition so we can prepare ourselves to move forward without it.

I’m talking about benevolence.

For four years, Joe Biden has been the consoler-in-chief. He has played that role beautifully, drawing on an innate sense of compassion to lift us from the depths of Covid and the ruins of the first Trump presidency.

Although unappreciated by his contemporaries, these efforts should not be minimized, because they speak to the importance of the symbolic role a president is called to play. Throughout history, during times of trial, we have looked to the president to uplift us. Such is the nature of the office and our relationship to it. Some presidents have performed this role better than others, but arguably none did it better than Biden, whose capacity for empathy is a rare gift in politicians.

We will miss it when he’s gone. And we will miss it especially because empathy is something his narcissistic successor lacks. We see this in Trump’s attempt to belittle the California governor and score political points at the expense of the suffering of people he has been elected to serve. And we remember what it was like the first time. America was able to extract itself from an abusive relationship with its leader and replace him temporarily with someone who treated the country with compassion. But we didn’t appreciate that compassion or weren’t of a mind to accept it, so we invited the abuser back.

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It’s going to be hard to re-enter the distorted world that will be shaped by Trump’s psyche. Hard, but not impossible, if we can maintain our perspective.

Trump is an extreme outlier in the extent to which he regards everyone as a mere extension of himself and sees every human interaction as transactional. To keep our balance, it may help to remember how unnatural it is to politicize everything, or to think about people in our lives who endeavor to build others up.

In contrast to Trump’s belligerent behavior toward the fire victims, I was reminded of something I heard just last week, at Jimmy Carter’s memorial service. Eulogizing the late president as a man who put what was right ahead of what was expedient, Carter advisor Stuart Eizenstat remembered his former boss and friend as someone who “parked politics at the Oval Office door to do what he believed was the right thing.”

Eizenstat shared the story of how Carter decided to take on chronically high inflation with a move that he knew imperiled his re-election chances:

Over the objection of all advisors, he chose Paul Volcker to lead the Federal Reserve, knowing in advance that Volcker’s tough monetary policy would raise interest rates and unemployment, because Paul told him that. And would do so in a presidential election year. “You take care of the economy Paul, I’ll take care of the politics,” [Carter said]. Inflation indeed dropped like a rock—after he left office.

Carter, of course, didn’t just leave office. He was kicked out by an electorate angry in part about his stewardship of the economy. As Eizenstat noted, Carter knew this could happen when he put Volker in charge of the Fed. He did it anyway.

After Eizenstat spoke, the incumbent consoler-in-chief added his thoughts about what Carter’s impulse to do what he believed was right meant to him personally. Joe Biden, in the ceremony’s final eulogy, said that “Jimmy Carter’s friendship taught me, and . . . his life taught me, that strength of character is more than title or the power we hold. It’s the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect.”

Dignity. Respect. Doing what’s right. These qualities will be missed over the next four years.

Our job is to make sure they are not lost.

It may be important to downplay Trump’s behavior so as not to let it control us, but it is another thing to ignore it entirely so as to pretend it isn’t there. My hope is that by acknowledging what we are giving up we can prepare for the loss and be better prepared to manage what’s ahead.

In the weeks and months to come, I will address the dangers posed by the incoming administration to individual freedom and American democracy and try not to get caught up in the circus sideshow. Talking about the crazy only serves to fuel Trump’s bottomless need for attention and is very bad for our collective state of mind. This is why Chris and I will continue to focus on things we can control—actions that can be empowering— like what we can realistically do to oppose Trump’s agenda and mitigate his most destructive actions.

But the lies, the belittling, and the overt meanness will be with us constantly. They may not pose the same existential threat as Trump’s attempts to tear down the republic, but they’re important to acknowledge because they affect our lives.

We can find a way to make it through this harsh and unforgiving time without losing ourselves. This is not a challenge I asked for—it is certainly not a challenge I want—but as we navigate the second Trump administration, it will be important to maintain a sense of balance in a world that at times will feel upside down. We will be better off in the long run and during every day ahead if we channel the good within and work to maintain our humanity.