Mr. President, please stop the insults

During an interview last June in his New York office, I asked Donald Trump about his use of language that many considered insulting and divisive. “Will there be a pivot for you from the primaries to the general election campaign?”

The candidate said “I agree” about the tone of the campaign and that he intended to pivot. “It’s starting very soon,” he promised.

We’re still waiting.

The president was within his rights to discharge FBI Director James Comey, but it is the way he did it, sending a letter instead of a face-to-face meeting or even a phone call, that was disturbing. Comey was not only blindsided when he learned of his dismissal during a speech in Los Angeles, the president called him names and then tweeted that Comey “… better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Intimidation is ugly and unbecoming for any president. Comey’s sudden dismissal is fueling suspicions there is more to discover about alleged connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, something that has yet to be proved.

Whatever Comey’s shortcomings—and there are more than a few—he deserved better, even if only to make the president look good. In an interview with Lester Holt of NBC News, the president called Comey “a showboat” and said he was guilty of “grandstanding.” Maybe so, but wouldn’t the president have benefited by thanking Comey for his years of public service? Wouldn’t it have been better if he’d said, “I want to see the FBI move in a different direction”?

Anger is not policy. Insults do little to change anyone’s mind.

I voted for Trump and have appreciated his promises to take the country in a better and more prosperous direction. His selection of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court and his promise to fill lower courts with constitutional conservatives has the potential to place government back within the boundaries the Founders set for it. His businessman instincts to reform a government that has become bloated, dysfunctional, and burdened with debt are much needed. However, the president’s goals are hurt when he, instead of his policies, becomes the story—especially a negative story.

Anger is not policy. Insults do little to change anyone’s mind. The latest Quinnipiac University poll shows the president’s approval rating has dropped to 36 percent, a near record low. His disapproval has risen to 58 percent. Astonishingly, the poll also shows the media, which Trump has often called “fake news,” and worse, is now trusted more than he is.

Here are some positive suggestions that might turn things around. An old Glen Campbell song should be his theme: “Try a Little Kindness.” Find some positive things to say and do. Turn those constant tweets into positive statements.

Americans respond to optimism, as Ronald Reagan proved. But please, Mr. President, knock off the insults. They are poisoning your presidency and the good you and a Republican Congress can do.

Listen to Cal Thomas’ commentary on the May 16 edition of The World and Everything in It.