For Vice President Kamala Harris, this would include a commitment to healing a fractured country, with ongoing calls to unity that are meaningful, real and actionable. Her one proposed gesture toward bipartisanship — appointing one token Republican to her cabinet — is a welcome step but just the beginning.
Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, should also join in, leveraging his upbringing in small-town Nebraska to remedy the urban-rural divide. Walz’s “One Minnesota” campaign suggests he understands how vital it is to mend these fences, even though his work in Minnesota on that remains unfinished.
It’s imperative that Trump push for unity as well. If he wins, he’ll be the first and only president since Grover Cleveland who has been elected to non-sequential terms. His previous experience in the White House should bring with it an understanding of how important it is to govern on behalf of all Americans.
Swiftly ruling out retribution against nonsupporters would signal that Trump understands the grave responsibility inherent in winning a second term. His deep support within Christian evangelical communities provides an opportunity as well to meaningfully call for social and spiritual healing to take place.
He must also take the lead in fighting disinformation that has divided us on everything from hurricane relief efforts to COVID to vaccine safety. One valuable early step he could take on this front: appointing someone other than Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the political scion best known for trafficking in dangerous vaccine safety conspiracies, to lead federal public health agencies.
America’s enemies have made it clear that they understand the implications of Lincoln’s “house divided” warning. The Information Age has opened new fronts in this nation’s long-simmering conflicts with anti-democratic regimes. These forces know that division within creates weakness abroad.
