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If you have a chance to sample the $5 wines at Pike Cornerstone in Arlington, Virginia, do it. There I met Alan, a black professional in his late 30s. Although he is a Democrat, he has almost unorthodox views about soon-to-be President Trump.
“He won,” Alan told me after a few sips of Clara C Prosecco. “That was the clincher,” he added. But let’s see what happens. ”
Alan was unfazed by the shocking nomination of controversial former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz as attorney general. “I feel like a troll,” he said with a laugh, “but all we can do is wait and see.”
David Marcus: Both sides are at risk of learning the wrong lessons from Trump’s victory
Mr. Allan’s attitude, like that of other liberals I spoke with last week, is a marked departure from the anger and, frankly, flamboyance that arose in the wake of Mr. Trump’s first victory eight years ago.
President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. (Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
At the time, millions of furious women wearing pink hats were marching. The watchword for disappointed Hillary Clinton voters was “defiance,” but now Trump has resigned from his second term, presenting an opportunity but also a risk for the next president.
Trump’s first term as president gave him little chance. Half the country and about 90% of the press treated this not as a new government, but as a crisis to be prevented.
That level of disdain hasn’t occurred this time, and while it provides Mr. Trump with a runway to do what he wants to do as president, it also means he has no excuses if he fails.
The reaction to Trump’s victory reminded me of a conversation I had with Susan a few days before the election. She is a retired woman in her late 60s who is not a fan of Trump but thought he would win.
“If he wins, he will have to prove himself,” she told me.
This is also the story I heard from Sam, a man in his mid-thirties at Arlington National Cemetery. “This is about these people. This is what they fought for,” he, also a Democrat, looked out over the hills lined with bright white headstones and said to me.
Donald Trump and all of us have a real chance to come together and heal our country over the next four years. You can see how much people want it.
There is a real opportunity here to unite the country. Elon Musk and his band of social media trolls will continue to humiliate, insult, and try to “own their freedom,” but that’s wrong. There is now a real opportunity for this country to recover, and we should take advantage of it.
Almost by chance, I turned a corner at Arlington National Cemetery and found myself at President John F. Kennedy’s grave. His eternal flame flickered in the gentle breeze, and the small crowd fell silent.
President John F. Kennedy (Related news organizations)
In 1960, JFK won one of the closest and most contentious elections in American history. It was at the time of his tragic death that he became a unifying figure for our country. But it wasn’t just his assassination that made it happen, it was his words.
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“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” is an enduring and humbling call, and as Trump 2.0 begins, we are disappointed. There are signs that Democrats are taking that to heart.
“In Springfield, they’re eating dogs. People coming in are eating cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people who live there.” President Trump’s election platform will never be etched in stone, but that doesn’t mean he can’t ultimately be a unifying force.
Back in October, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, I met a small business owner who was sure he was voting for Harris and said, “I hope whoever wins puts the country first.” “I’m doing it,” he said. He was open to Trump, and I think he would rather his instincts about the next president be proven wrong than corrected.
Look around. No riots, no mass unplanned protests, no ridiculous claims that Russia influenced the election, and instead of all that – and I just want to say it – hope.
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Donald Trump and all of us have a real chance to come together and heal our country over the next four years. You can see how much people want it.
My fervent prayer is that we all take advantage of this opportunity.
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