Many have offered political advice to former President Donald Trump — few have made marked progress in encouraging the enigmatic man to post less and adopt a more diplomatic and sensitive tone.
Pointing to his success in business and political circles, Trump seems confident that his “peace through strength” approach to dealing with foes is best.
That truism has frustrated advisers who have encouraged the former president to build bridges with notables such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or Nikki Haley — both former rivals for the GOP presidential nomination. Trump appears reticent to extend an olive branch.
Hoover Institute senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson was the latest to suggest that Trump’s best path forward is to adopt a conciliatory posture and mend fences with former rivals.
That strategy, Hanson argued in a Wednesday interview on Fox News, would help Trump unify the party and bring moderates, independents and some anti-Trump holdouts into the tent.
Hanson shared his comments on Sean Hannity’s show, “Hannity,” after Haley officially suspended her campaign. The animosity between Haley and Trump is clear — Haley responded to Trump’s name-calling and disparaging remarks by refusing to endorse him, which other GOP presidential contenders, save Chris Christie, have done.
Regarding Trump’s campaign strategy, Hannity asked Hanson: “What advice would you give him? What would you tell him to do? Beyond his base, doesn’t he need some independence? Do you think he can pull in these numbers we’re now seeing with African-Americans, Hispanic Americans [and] young people?”
Hanson replied: “Absolutely, there’s a lot of people who want a reason to vote for Donald Trump, and they will vote for him. He’s shown he can be magnanimous, he has a sense of humor. He’s got to end the ad hominem.”
The political expert added: “He’s now our last chance to save the country, and he’s got an obligation to all of us. And he has the ability to seek unity. I think he should even call up Nikki Haley and say, ‘You know what, we’ve had problems, but we’re going to need you.’ He needs those votes. I know it doesn’t make good politics, but he’s gotta campaign in 50 states. He’s gotta go to the inner-city, he’s gotta go to Mexican-American communities, he’s gotta go to everybody. I think he will do very well if he does that.”
Speaking of how the political climate has changed, Hanson observed, “He’s a different character of a different stature in 2016 and 2020. This election, Sean, is about — you’re either for civilization or you’re not — from what we’ve seen.
Hanson continued: “And he represents the effort to save civilization, it really is that existential. And I think he can do it. All he has to do is appeal to unity and the better angels of our nature and unite the country in a way that I think he’s got the talent to do it.”
The analyst added: “He doesn’t need to, to try to polarize his enemies, they’re self-imploding. They’re destroying themselves as we saw on MSNBC. All he has to do is talk for unity, talk about what he’s going to do — the agenda — and they’ll take care of themselves and their hatred.”
A recent New York Times/Siena poll showed that Trump is leading Biden in the following key demographics: women, young adults, Latinos, and black voters — all strong voting blocks for Biden in 2020.
