Donald Trump Shamelessly Leaves The Stage

Richard Nixon’s best speech came at his worst moment. Having resigned the presidency to avoid impeachment in the aftermath of Watergate, he delivered a farewell address to his White House staff that served as a reflection on duty and humility.

“Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty,” he said before embarking on Marine One for the last time. “Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.”

They were words that came from hard-won knowledge. Nixon, although prone to bouts of self-pity, understood and was able to acknowledge that he had destroyed himself, or at least his career and his place in history.

President Trump, who reportedly bristles at being compared to Nixon, struck a much different note before his final flight on Air Force One, on his way to Mar-a-Lago Wednesday. Having decided to leave office in the most graceless way possible — without meeting his successor at the White House or even walking back his baseless claim that the election was “stolen” from him — Trump turned his farewell at Joint Base Andrews into one last little rally.

There was no reflection or acknowledgment of any mistakes. Instead there was bragging about his tax cuts and a preemptive attempt to take credit for an anticipated economic boom under President Biden. “Remember us when you see these things happening,” he told the smattering of supporters his team was able to corral for the event.

“What we’ve done has been amazing by any standard,” he told them before walking off the podium to the Village People’s “YMCA.” He added, in what could be seen as a veiled threat to the Republican senators set to consider his impeachment at the upcoming trial, that he would “be back in some form.”

This, needless to say, is not the way we expect presidents to leave.

Much has been said over the last four years about Trump’s disdain for “norms,” a piece of Washington jargon that refers to unwritten rules, standards of civility, historical precedents and the way things just ought to be done. His first campaign for the presidency was so vulgar, so hopelessly base, that seemingly everyone who studied politics for a living thought he could never win the GOP nomination, let alone the presidency.

CULLED FROM REUTERS