Jack’s Angle: No epiphany from Trump – John J. “Jack” Partridge

by John J. “Jack” Partridge, contributing writer, commentary

(Commentary written prior to Donald Trump’s appearance at the Black Journalists event- stay tuned as Jack follows the US Presidential election and other important issues with personal commentary)

Give a candidate a free half hour on national television and signal it was to be a message of hope and unity and then turn it into a campaign rally may be the weirdest mistake of this presidential campaign season. That is what Trump did on Friday night. With a gush of good will at his back, he should have reached out to the voters but instead he gave into his dark angels for an attack – so often repeated on Biden and Democrats.  Either he couldn’t control himself in his vitriol or he was so sure he had the election in the bag against a failing Biden (he had his core voters and the millions of voters who had already decided against Biden on the age issue, that was a majority he likely felt, no need to court those who remained undecided.)

Then came the Biden withdrawal which  has turned the race into something of a toss-up. Who is the old man now? Those lost minutes cannot be recovered, and give rise to more concern about his suitability as a candidate. I was ready for the promised speech, full of good will and promise of the future under Trump and Vance, and felt insulted by its emptiness and name calling. The assassination attempt was a crisis, while personal, that should not have been wasted, that had the nation ready for humility and not bluster. In a mood to listen, instead it got vintage Trump. For me it was a wasted hour and a half, that put me in a mode reminiscent to when he said John McCain was a loser because he was a prisoner of war. What hypocrisy as he clings to a claim of American patriotism and attempts to wrap our flag around his rotund body.

If Biden can keep quiet and out of the way, I think Harris is smart enough and tough enough to give Trump a real battle. He’ll regret the lost opportunity to speak to us about hopes and dreams for our country’s future.  And I bet he won’t debate her unless the embarrassment factor gets really strong because Haris can cream him over his hyperbole and exaggeration.

Of course, anything can happen to change the dynamics, (something like a reversal of his convictions in New York) but Trump has lost the sympathy vote with that speech, and Biden’s  announcement changed the race. My email friends say that a lot of the Republican convention anti-Biden momentum has been subsumed by Biden’s drop out and refreshed Democratic hopes. 

Hold on to your hats, voters. And I still recommend you bring a pen with you on election day to cast a write-in vote if you become disgusted with the choices on the printed ballot.

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To read more columns by Jack Partridge, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/our-team/john-j-jack-partridge/

John J. ‘Jack’ Partridge, is a retired lawyer and Senior Counsel to the firm of Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP, with four offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.A Pawtucket native, Jack graduated from St. Raphael Academy and summa cum laude of Providence College, where he majored in history. After Harvard Law School, he served in the United States Army in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal. In 1967, he joined the firm of Tillinghast Collins & Tanner. In 1988, he became a founding partner of Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP.

Jack has been engaged in many civic, political, governmental, and business organizations, serving as legal counsel to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce for 27 years and was chairman of the Old Slater Mill Association, Common Cause Rhode Island, and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island.

He is the co-founder of The Pawtucket Foundation and an officer and director of innumerable not-for-profit entities. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club and was Treasurer of the Ocean State Charities Trust.

Jack has a long history of leadership involvement with Providence College, which recognized him in 1999 with the Providence College Alumni Association Recognition Award for Public and Community Service, and in 2011, with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

He is married to the former Regina McDonald and has three children: Sarah, Gregory and David.