MAGAnanimous

The scope of Mr. Trump’s electoral victory allows him to do something very different from his habitual instincts. Be magnanimous, or in his case MAGAnanimous. He has scored a great victory. He no longer needs to denigrate his former opponents. The election results are punishment enough.  He has already changed the nature of politics in America, redirecting the Republican Party in support of the working man and woman, changing the nature of our relationships with allies and adversaries, and deglobalizing our economy (not only in the hopes of more American jobs but also to strategically protect supply lines).

But he needs to do more. In his first term in office, Mr. Trump attempted to make many changes in how the US government operates, to drain the swamp as he called it. In addition to tax reform he undid many of the onerous regulations that held back US business. But most of those changes were done on a strictly partisan basis or by executive orders. When he was defeated in 2020, President Biden was able to undo most of the changes Mr. Trump had made, reinstituting and expanding environmental regulations, expanding diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government and in our military, reining in our oil and gas industries in favor of renewable (but unreliable) alternatives.

If Mr. Trump wants to build a lasting legacy he needs to do things differently. I think it is important to remember that after World War Two, the United States treated the defeated Axis powers, not kindly, but decently. There were, of course, war crimes trials for the surviving leaders, but the people of those countries were treated decently. It was the harsh treatment and onerous reparations after World War One that catapulted Germany into fascism and another world war.  Respectful treatment of defeated enemies have turned those countries, not into sullen vassal states like Eastern Europe behind the Iron Curtain, but into staunch allies.

Few of the defeated left-wing progressives will leave the United States as they have proclaimed on social media. If they are treated disrespectfully, they will remain a sullen, angry nemesis lurking in our institutions and academia, ready to pounce on any mis-step by a Trump administration. But many Democrats realize that their party has gone further to the left than most Americans wanted, and they realize that changes need to be made. Respectful treatment has a better chance of turning defeated Democrats into a loyal opposition than into a fifth column. Bi-partisan legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, have a much better chance of surviving the test of time than purely partisan bills that can be overturned by a future congress.

Mr. Trump’s inclination may be to crush his opponents, insult them, call them names, as he has done so many times in the past. This may give him some vengeance but at a cost to his legacy. Democrats will eventually regain the White House. If those Democrats are moderate centrist Democrats that share a vision of America that has been a force for good in the world and not far-left socialists that want to undo all that America has achieved, then his legacy will be safe.

Of Course it is unlikely that Mr. Trump will listen to advice such as thus. But what the heck. It’s worth a try.