Too little, too late
And good riddance.
Related highlights:
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President Trump finally admits he lost the 2020 election.
He deserves no credit for this, no credit for his concession speech Thursday evening calling for unity and peace. He deserves no praise for doing only now, after peddling voter fraud conspiracy theories and encouraging a deadly riot in the nation’s capital, the bare minimum required of his office.
Trump deserves nothing but our contempt for having created and nurtured the national humiliation that led to this moment.
“Like all Americans,” the president’s address begins, “I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness, and mayhem.”
Either he’s lying, or he managed somehow in the course of 24 hours to take the exact opposite position he held Wednesday.
The president continues, saying, “I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders.”
This claim also appears to be a lie. We’re not off to a great start.
“The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy,” the president says. “To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay. We have just been through an intense selection, and emotions are high, but now, tempers must be cooled and calm restored. We must get on with the business of America.”
Trump then offers a defense for why he waited until Thursday, after multiple, conclusive legal defeats, to concede the election, claiming he was merely “fighting to defend American democracy” and trying to “ensure the integrity of the vote.”
After all of that, he gets around to admitting that there will indeed be a new president.
“A new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20,” he says. “My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”
Absent from his prepared remarks is the name “Joe Biden.”
“Rebuilding the greatest economy on earth will require all of us working together,” Trump continues. “It will require a renewed emphasis on the civic values of patriotism, faith, charity, community, and family. We must revitalize the sacred bonds of love and loyalty that bind us together as one national family.”
Oh, please. Compare these remarks to what the president said just hours before, back when he called his opponents “bad” and “evil,” when he vowed “never” to concede, or when he implored his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol building during a joint session of Congress to “fight like hell” and give the “weak” Republicans the “kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”
“To the citizens of our country,” Trump eventually concludes, “serving as your president has been the honor of my lifetime. And to all of my wonderful supporters: I know you are disappointed, but I also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning.”
So, there you have it. The president did Thursday what he should’ve done a long time ago, sparing himself, his family, his office, his party, his supporters, and the entire country a shameful, weekslong charade that will haunt us for years.
And all it took to get to this exact point was a fatal attack on the U.S. Capitol building, a likely irreversible loss of faith in the integrity of U.S. elections, and lasting international humiliation.
What a deal.