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To be fair, Trump first suggested that Dingell was "looking down" from heaven. But the president couldn't resist his little joke, and the resulting anguish it caused Rep. Debbie Dingell, the congressman's widow, was entirely understandable. Trump should apologize.
He won't, of course. Not that Trump's lack of contrition will cost him any support. The president's devotees long ago accepted his callousness as a character flaw that is offset by his frontal assault on a corrupt and complacent Washington swamp. The local Republican Party county chair told me last week she had just returned from Dayton, where the printer claims to be working around the clock to keep up with the demand for Trump fliers, pamphlets and memorabilia. There is no abatement in enthusiasm, he told her.
The blowback from the pundit class over Trump's musings on the fate of someone's eternal soul would be more meaningful if the same empathy was accorded the president when it is predicted that he will burn in hell. Such insinuations are regularly made, and similar hopes expressed in emails I receive. There are even fine art prints of "Trump's Arrival in Hell" available online ($30 unframed), but widespread disgust over such an affront to our president has yet to be observed.
Despite the Bible's observation that the path to heaven is narrow and few will travel it, while the road to hell is wide and much more populated, it is still improper in polite society to suggest that anyone will end up in the wrong place, except when discussing Trump.
Trump's joke about Dingell was shameful, but there is an undeniable double standard in the reactions to what Trump says and what others say in return, even when they are comparably snide.
Trump's insults are quickly condemned by most commentators as rude, crude and disgusting, while the barbs directed against him are usually portrayed as examples of keen wit and deserved retribution.
The president does not shoulder all the blame for our divided nation. We all share responsibility for a low discourse too often based on our intractable political stances. This season of peace and goodwill is another opportunity for everyone on all sides to take stock of our own actions. In that spirit, let us agree on some simple truths.
First, it's OK for Trump's base to admit that he is too often tactless, and doesn't set the example we would like to see in our president. He should lay off criticizing dead people. You can still support Trump for president and simultaneously acknowledge that sometimes he's a jerk.
Second, it's all right for Trump's critics to admit that impeachment was a purely partisan scavenger hunt, and that what was described as a "clear and present danger" in need of immediate action was hardly that at all, proven now by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's refusal to let the articles of impeachment leave her grasp.
Third, it's acceptable for Trump supporters to admit that, while impeachment was an overreach, Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not "perfect," and he should have avoided even the appearance of holding up foreign aid for political purposes. It will be a legitimate campaign issue for the Democrats.
Fourth, it's time for the mainstream media to admit that the left is sometimes wrong, and concede that not all "right-wing conspiracy theories" are unfounded, which we know from the debunked Russian collusion narrative and the mounting evidence that some in the FBI indeed, made mistakes as they conducted their investigation of the Trump campaign in 2016.
For people on all sides, it's all right to complain that Trump is ill-mannered and simultaneously give him credit for his positive accomplishments. It's OK to like some of what he does but dislike how he conducts himself.
We can enter the election year of 2020 and admit that neither the left nor the right is always on the side of the angels. Yes, it's complicated, but it's OK to be conflicted, to see both sides, to climb out of our partisan foxholes and acknowledge the obvious, even when it contradicts our preferred narratives and political prejudices.
It's OK to respect each other, to consider other opinions and even to change our minds once in a while.
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Abernathy is the former publisher and editor of the (Hillsboro, Ohio) Times-Gazette.
Previously:
• 12/17/19 It appears Putin may have written the Dems' talking points on impeachment
• 12/06/19 A tale of two first ladies during impeachment
• 10/17/19 Most of my neighbors watch Fox News. Here's why I encourage them to try other channels, too
• 10/02/19 That next civil war?
• 09/25/19 A glimpse into a world where the President is not in constant crisis
• 09/18/19 Breaking from Trump isn't so easy
• 09/03/19 Trump is the product of a narcissistic media age
• 07/23/19 GOP should welcome Mueller's testimony
• 07/02/19 No one makes the President as unsteady as Kamala Harris does
• 05/28/19 In the heart of Trump Country, renewable energy is about to flourish
• 05/08/19 These are the times that try cynics' souls
• 04/19/19 Mueller report is out. The other shoe may drop soon
• 04/16/19 It behooves serious journalists to delve into a story that might actually be worthy of Watergate comparisons
• 04/09/19 Get ready for Mueller report 'bombshells'
• 03/26/19 Trump Country's reaction to the Mueller report: 'So what?'
• 02/14/19 Things are going well if these stories are considered big news
• 01/22/19 '%#&@ --- Trump found something to bash us with yet again!'
• 01/14/19 The wall is Trump's 'read my lips' pledge
• 01/10/19 Dems risk misreading the meaning of the midterms
• 12/24/18 Is arming teachers a good idea? Depends on where you live
• 12/11/18 The partisan media still doesn't understand us
• 11/23/18 Prez honoring Elvis? It's about time
• 10/03/18 The Kavanaugh accusations were just what the doctor ordered for Trump Country
• 08/21/18 America can't stop watching
• 08/07/18 To the GOP's base, Trump can do no wrong
• 07/31/18 Will the media's anti-Trump fever ever break?
• 07/24/18 The media's martyr complex
• 07/18/18 What got Trump into hot water regarding Putin was not what he said
• 06/14/18 One lib pol's careful playing of the Trump card
• 06/13/18 Roseanne's twisted tweet was horrible. Its consequences will be worse
• 05/08/18 America's charitable instincts know no political divide
• 05/01/18 Millions of women voted for Trump, and didn't need a man to convince them
• 04/05/18 'Roseanne' is not pro-Trump; it's pro-civility
• 01/09/18 Trump is right to bully America's enemies
• 12/11/17 Abandon Trump? Oh, absolutely not now!
• 11/10/17 Please, Big Media, come visit us in Trump country
• 10/12/17 The left does not out-care the right
• 08/15/17 An honest conversation about race is not allowed
• 08/02/17 Why people like me still support Trump