Jim Shella: What Trump’s role as the great divider really means

Donald Trump is a divider. That is not a revelation, but it is worthwhile to point out just how much he is working outside the realm of American leaders who preceded him.

Politicians, especially at the national level, usually aspire to unite the country behind them. That goes for second-term presidents in particular. They want to bring people together in ways that help them build a legacy.

But we see Trump attacking Iran over the objections even of many of his supporters. (He has split from Democrats long ago, calling their leaders radicals or losers.)

Republican members of the U.S. Senate are now speaking out against his war while some right-wing commentators declare this is not what they voted for.

Meantime, European allies are reluctant to help police the Strait of Hormuz or even aid American troops. Trump insults President Emmanuel Macron of France rather than seek to convince an ally that he is taking the right approach.

One goal is to divide the Iranian people. Trump wants to see an uprising to overthrow the Islamic Republic. He has overseen the shipment of weapons to some of them but, so far, no revolt.

Certainly, some of them support his actions.

I have a neighbor, Ali, who lives a couple of doors down. He was born and raised in Tehran and moved here to escape authoritarianism. He recently appeared at my front door and asked if I would like to join him to celebrate the removal of the Supreme Leader.

While I am happy for Ali, it seems wrong to celebrate. Especially since I have a nephew who is one of the combatants in Iran.

He is an F-15 pilot and, so, when that F-15 was shot down by the Iranians just before Easter, it was a reason to worry.

I knew my nephew had flown a couple of missions already, and the communication from the Middle East to my sister and then on to me and my siblings is spotty, at best.

I have since learned that my nephew took part in the rescue mission for the second crew member and is safe.

It is all unsettling.

And then, if you turn on the TV, you can see ads where GOP primary candidates are endorsed by Trump over sitting Republican state senators because those senators refused to vote for Trump-ordered redistricting. He is dividing his own party.

Or, you can watch a White House news conference and see that Trump avoids difficult questions. Not unusual, but he does it by attacking the reporters who ask them, demanding to know whom they work for and then attacking the credibility of their news outlets by talking about profits or ratings. He is attempting to divide the media from the rest of the country.

Speaking of which. his Federal Communications Commission has approved the merger of two Indianapolis TV stations, WISH-TV Channel 8 and WRTV-TV Channel 6, leading to large-scale layoffs, and also the merger of Tegna and Nexstar that could lead to more layoffs at Tegna’s WTHR-TV Channel 13.

To Trump, the journalists are the enemy, much like the Democrats, the Iranians and NATO allies.

This is not healthy behavior, and I have seen the suggestions from Rep. Andre Carson and others to remove Trump from office by using the 25th Amendment.

I am not there yet simply because that would lead to more division. But I fear the time is coming when pretty much everyone will think that is a good idea.

That might be Donald Trump’s only opportunity to unite people.•

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Shella hosted WFYI’s “Indiana Week in Review” for 25 years and covered Indiana politics for WISH-TV for more than three decades. Send comments to [email protected].

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