SC leaders on how to bridge the Trump divide

As protests for and against President Donald Trump and his administration continue, state leaders suggest how South Carolinians might bridge the divide.

‘Should welcome ... differences’

In his inaugural address, President Trump missed a chance to unify the American people, says Joe Riley, the longtime Democratic mayor of Charleston who recently retired.

Riley said Trump could have followed the spirit of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, when he called for “malice toward none” and “charity for all.”

That was in 1865, during the Civil War – “a time of real, unprecedented division in America,” noted Riley.

The country could benefit from “dialing back a little” on the rhetoric and anger, and realize that having differences with someone “does not make them an enemy at all,” Riley added.

“In democracy, we should welcome those differences. We learn from those differences. We don’t need to dislike each other. We need to advance our ideas, and then listen to those whose ideas are different.”

A lesson from football?

Loving each other and finding common ground are critical to closing divides – a lesson as true in politics as it is in football, according to Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney, who led his Tigers to a national championship this year.

“In a world that’s very divided, nothing brings people together like football. … Football brings race, religion, backgrounds, neighborhoods, bank accounts – it just breaks all that stuff down and brings people together and makes them brothers,” Swinney said, speaking Tuesday to the S.C. General Assembly.

Clemson’s players had to come together despite the “barriers of society” that keep people from communicating, Swinney told the legislators. “When you put that helmet on, you don’t care what his religion is, or whether he’s a Democrat or a Republican.”

Swinney urged lawmakers to take a page from that same philosophical playbook. “For us to have the best state, it takes that little extra.”

‘Really listening’

Resolving our nation’s tensions has to start with “really listening, and not just being quiet while the other person talks,” said Anne Sinclair, a former longtime Columbia city councilwoman who consults with businesses and nonprofits on problem solving and conflict resolution.

Local elected officials must set the tone for sincere listening and honest dialogue, she said.

“It’s hard to be heard sometimes,” Sinclair said. “We’re at a point where we have Facebook town halls and telephone town halls – I mean, that’s not discussion. Then, you have town halls where people are loud and shouting. That’s not discussion either.”

“As human beings, I think people just have to get it off their chest,” Sinclair said. “But the problems don’t go away, and we have to, ultimately, work together to solve them.”

‘Sea change’ is needed

The Rev. Joseph Darby, presiding elder of the AME Church’s Beaufort district, says a “sea change” in the way President Trump is leading the nation could bridge the divide between his supporters and opponents.

Trump has “embraced policies that are horrifying to a good bit of the electorate,” Darby said, adding, “We’re in it for the long haul, unfortunately.”

“You’re going to see him taking some controversial and, frankly, un-American stands. Any common ground that could be found will require change on his part.”

Not ‘ever going to work with him’

Republican financier and former state GOP chairman Barry Wynn hears a lot of uncertainty about Trump when he talks to fellow Republicans, who – like him – wanted someone else to win the White House.

“I’ve talked to a lot of (Jeb) Bush folks who are still kind of scratching their heads, and even Lindsey Graham-type folks who are frightened every time he says something,” Wynn said of Trump.

But the new president’s “more measured tone” during his Tuesday address to Congress “brought a lot of those people back into the tent,” said Wynn, an Upstate Republican.

Trump’s shift in tone might unify Republicans, Wynn said.

But the public uproar for and against the president might continue, he said, adding some of the public’s fears over Trump’s immigration policies are warranted.

“As far as bringing people together, the people who hate Trump are going to hate Trump. If he could cure cancer, I don’t think those folks are ever going to work with him.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 12:43 PM with the headline "SC leaders on how to bridge the Trump divide."