OPINION
Ask Not
By Tom Lamia
POSTHUMOUS OFFICIAL PRESIDENTIAL PORTRAIT of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
In these troubled times there is much confusion and concern among us. Dramatic policy differences exist within both Republican and Democrat constituent blocs. There is a cult-like fidelity to Trump among a sizable number of Republicans and a similarly large number of Democrats have lost faith in their party’s leadership.
The current frustration, anxiety and deadlock are barriers to realizing a common goal: preservation of the Constitution and the rule of law. Our national conversation is now loud, hostile and aimless. I have a suggestion. It is made in good faith, with hope for its success and fear for its failure.
In his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy, after touching all the bases of national goals and challenges, made a simple request: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you ─ ask what you can do for your country.”
That plea was made in the concluding lines of a fulsome statement of presidential challenges, which he summarized as “a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.”
Those challenges continue, with varying emphasis, in this new era of Project 2025 and DEI. My suggestion is that all Americans adopt Kennedy’s challenge, asking what they can do for their country to meet this new presidential challenge.
It means working with the tools and materials we have and accepting that without compromise no solution is possible. It means finding a way through Trump’s intransigence and lies. It means abandoning legal, philosophical and constitutional beginnings to find grounds for discussion. It means sitting down with the devil. It means a new beginning but not a new ending. It means compromise to fight another day.
Kennedy described a new era of projecting American power and culture onto a world stage through diplomacy, treaties and the United Nations. Trump seeks a world in which he has the power to make deals in America’s interests, which include profit for private interests and geographic expansion and spheres of influence for America. Kennedy-era allies were those with whom we fought in World War II. Trump allies must be loyal to him and able to pay their own way, financially or ideologically. These differences are not insuperable so long as our national interest is uppermost.
Where do we start? Let me offer this update of the Kennedy challenge: Ask not what government can do for you, ask what you can do for government.
There’s plenty to do. In five critical groups that have a disproportionately large influence on government, this is a moment for assessing and using power to stop the slide to one person rule.
Business leaders: Stop patronizing Trump out of fear for his wrath. You have his respect for your accomplishments. He wants your support. It will be more valuable to him if you give it than if he takes it. It means discussion, flattery, cajoling and courage on your part. You have the power that comes from his respect for your success and the bully pulpit you have with your customers, clients, bankers, stockholders and lobbyists. If you fail to use this power you will lose it. He has a supersensory power for spotting and exploiting weakness. Do not concede in advance. He will ask for more next time. Employ the best lawyers (not the loudest, the best), expect litigation and budget for it. Your primary skill is hedging risk; do that now while you can.
Cultural leaders: Use your unique public audiences to find opportunities for empathy with Trump. Show him that you want to protect him from the slings and arrows and provide him with audiences he can charm with his unquestioned talent for camaraderie. It does not have to be genuine. He won’t insist that it be so and you should see it as show business that will always stop before the line to disingenuous, irreversible fluff or treason is crossed. You and your president friend can invite and reach audiences that help you both to communicate with humor and common concern for your shared patriotism.
SPONSORED
Intimates and insiders: Protect him from himself so that he is able survive when confronted with a situation that even his legendary abilities to deflect responsibility onto others fails him. His malignant narcissism often serves him well in adversity because he cannot accept blame, so lies to escape it. Each lie opens a channel through which criticism and public obloquy can penetrate and become wedged into his permanent, inescapable lore. You can use flattery, of course, in all cases. In the rare case of access for inconvenient truths, you can gently open the door to treatment for the narcissism. That would be a great service to him and to your country.
World leaders, allies and enemies: Working with him has proved both pointless and demeaning of your place. The right approach, however difficult, is to ignore him. In the short term you would be rightly criticized for not having an effective response to the bullying and posturing, but you are important to him. He needs you as a foil for his taunts and demands and will go quiet if he is ignored. He craves attention from you. Be pleasant but do not concede any aspect of your independence or sovereignty. This will leave him in the role of the cat that has wounded the mouse but quietly crouches over his victim, hoping for more. He wants you wounded, not dead.
Lawyers and judges: Your fingers are in the dike of overwhelming lawlessness. This is your chance to prove James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay correct in their construction of the Constitution. Think of your place in that venerable scheme and understand that unlike Plessy v. Ferguson, there will be no next time if there is another United States v. Trump and the Court finds the theft of our constitutional republic was an “official act” for which a president is immune from prosecution.
