Can Trump Be a Lincoln for Our Time?
By T.J. Harker
It is now apparent that the enemies of the United States of America know no limits in their willingness to destroy Trump. First, they tried to do it with lies, bombarding the country and the world with deceit so pervasive that nothing like it had ever been seen in the West. Next, they corrupted our form of government by subverting a national election to keep Trump from the presidency. Then, they hijacked the criminal and civil justice systems to prosecute him. And now, one of their foot soldiers tried to assassinate him.
As I said in a previous article, winning this contest will require that unpleasant things be done. People who subvert our form of government, who weaponize the criminal justice system, who prosecute their political enemies, and who incentivize (or worse) the assault or murder of their opponents must be held to account. This can be done within the letter of the law; but, still, examples must be made. It is not enough to assume that an election defeat will cause America’s internal enemies to give up. They must understand that we intend to restore the principles of the American Founding and that their lawlessness will not stand in our way.
It is astonishing and ennobling that a man could rise to this lofty height in the face of such vituperative and personal hate. They defamed him, tried to destroy him professionally and politically, tried to bankrupt him, stole an election from him, tried to incarcerate him, and now have tried to murder him. Like Lincoln — perhaps more so — Trump has cause to take retribution. But, also like Lincoln, Trump understands that this struggle is not about him. Rather, it’s about the self-evident truths of our Founding. Restoring those principles requires the type of man who can do the unpleasant things and rise above the desire for personal vengeance, no matter how justified. It requires a man for the ages.
In the meantime, we can see that Trump’s character, while flawed, points beyond itself to nearly-extinguished ideals of patriotism, heroism, and sacrifice. The type of things that cannot be motivated by mere personal vanity or the desire for power. His character has given us time to orient ourselves to the enemy so that we may stand and defend those self-evident truths — and, after that, go about the business of reconciliation.
