Presidents give lots of good speeches. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine rising to the highest office in the land without being able to give lots of good speeches. And good speeches are usually good enough.
But every now and then, the moment calls for a great speech. I witnessed one of those times in 2015 when then-President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy for the victims of the Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, S.C. Although the president was not a member of my party, and although I disagreed with most things he did in office, the speech he delivered to honor Clementa Pinckney, my former colleague in the South Carolina Senate, was truly moving. He delivered a message of unity and healing at a time and place where it was desperately needed. It was, without a doubt, a great speech.
Last Sunday night was another one of those sorts of moments. Less than 24 hours after the failed assassination of former President Trump, the country was understandably unsettled, even frightened over what had almost just happened. Against that backdrop, Biden sat down behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office to address the nation on one of the most dramatic events in recent memory.
And, with the eyes of the nation watching, he delivered – a pretty good speech. And that was a disappointment.
Biden covered all of the cliches and checked all the boxes. In his opening lines he encouraged us to “remember (that) while we may disagree, we are not enemies.” He commented on “the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics….” He then moved on to other platitudes – desperately needed, perhaps, but still platitudes – about resolving our differences at the ballot box, getting out of our silos, and showing mutual respect for those we disagree with.
At one point, however, he opened the door to what could have been not only a legacy-defining moment for him, but a watershed moment in American politics: “You know, the political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. And we all have a responsibility to do that.”
And having opened that door, he then failed to walk through it. The speech ended a few minutes later with comments so unremarkable I doubt anyone remembers them.
Imagine the difference in the country today, if his next lines – after talking about all of us having a responsibly to do better – were something like this: “And as president, I have a responsibility to go first. If we are going to start to change the nature of political discourse in this country – if we are going to start disagreeing without being disagreeable – then that starts with me, and it starts right now.
“It was wrong for me to say we needed to put a bullseye on Donald Trump, even in the context of a private meeting. It was wrong for me to refer to him as a domestic enemy of this country. It was wrong for my team to describe him as a general threat to the nation.
“I don’t think that normal Americans would interpret that sort of language as a call to violence. And we don’t know if the young man who tried to kill President Trump even ever heard those words. But we all know there are people out there who struggle with mental illness, and who don’t see the world as others do. And we need to be aware of that. Words matter. And as president my words sometimes matter more than others.
“As president, I need to lead. I need to set an example. So, while I will continue to challenge Donald Trump on his policies, and I will continue to shine light on what I believe to be the risks of having him win this election, I will be using different language going forward. And I challenge him – especially as someone who has sat in this chair previously – to do the same. Indeed, I challenge all of us to do the same.”
But Biden didn’t say that. (I should note that he hinted at part of that in an interview a few days later, but sitting down with a reporter and looking straight into the camera from the Oval Office are two different things.) Looking back, he said what had to be said, but nothing more.
Now Trump has a chance to fill the void left by Biden when he addresses the Republican National Convention and the nation on Thursday night. Whether Trump gives a good speech, or a great speech, remains to be seen. But the door is still open.
Mick Mulvaney, a former congressman from South Carolina, is a contributor to NewsNation. He served as director of the Office of Management and Budget, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and White House chief of staff under President Donald Trump.