SALT LAKE CITY — Are you outraged? If so, who or what is the source of your outrage?
That dominated some of our conversation inside the newsroom this week as we reported on the impeachment inquiry, the actions of Utah’s congressional delegation, and the public reaction on both sides of the conservative-liberal ledger.
There was also a healthy conversation on “Hug Justice.” More on that in a minute.
Supporters of Donald Trump are heralding the honesty and transparency of this president. He holds nothing back. When the speaker of the House announced an impeachment inquiry because of a whistleblower’s revelations about a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump said no problem, he would release transcripts of the tape. And he made good on that.
Nothing to see here, except the long-sought political attack Democrats have been waiting for, said the president.
When the transcript showed that he did have a conversation asking for a favor from the president of Ukraine — to look into the activities of Joe Biden and his son — the impeachment inquiry came.
What did the president do? He did what his supporters say he always does: He says what he believes. “By the way, likewise,” Trump told reporters, “China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”
If there was anything wrong, would the president really invite another foreign power to engage? In public? To reporters? What honesty! His supporters are with him.
Outrageous, say his detractors. Call him honest if you will, for his consistency. But it’s consistency in dishonesty. He’s the most dishonest “honest” president the country has ever had. He must be removed from office, say the supporters of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Just look at the Washington Post’s Fact Checker column, which as of Saturday had the following headline: “In 928 days, President Trump has made 12,019 false or misleading claims.”
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney first called the Ukraine call troubling. Utah’s lone Democratic congressman, Ben McAdams, representing a heavily Republican district, kept twisting to avoid going all in on impeachment. By Friday, following the China comments, Romney called it “appalling” and McAdams was done twisting, now saying he supports the impeachment inquiry.
Romney tweeted: “When the only American citizen President Trump singles out for China’s investigation is his political opponent in the midst of the Democratic nomination process, it strains credulity to suggest that it is anything other than politically motivated.”
He continued: ”By all appearances, the President’s brazen and unprecedented appeal to China and to Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden is wrong and appalling.”
All this was reported in the Deseret News, and every other media outlet in the nation.
Biden’s spokeswoman, Kate Bedingfield, said Trump “is flailing and melting down on national television, desperately clutching for conspiracy theories that have been debunked and dismissed by independent, credible news organizations.”
So with the presidential election now 394 days away, both Trump supporters and detractors, his political soldiers and his enemies are only further entrenched. Where does that leave the middle-of-the-road, not-sure-who-to-believe American trying to live a good and prosperous life?
Perhaps they’re not engaging in the political debate playing out in Washington and instead are opining on “Hug Justice.” That’s a new term (we kind of made it up) to describe what occurred after white, female police officer Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting a black unarmed man in his own apartment. The Deseret News editorial board praised the actions of the victim’s brother, who said he wished good things for the now former police officer, and then asked to give her a hug.
It was heartfelt. So heartfelt that that spirit of forgiveness permeated the courtroom. The judge in the case, Tammy Kemp, had one of her personal Bibles brought from her chambers and presented it to the woman she sent to prison. She then gave her a hug of her own.
That’s were the hug debate stands today. Did the judge do the right thing? The brother’s hug was praised. The judge’s perhaps is a bridge too far. But is it a bad thing when the goodwill of someone so profoundly impacts a courtroom — and a nation — that it spreads to unlikely places? Like a judge? Or perhaps a politician?
Frankly, a debate about proper court conduct and compassion is a good debate to have. The woman was held accountable, and then there was a greater measure of compassion.
What happens in Washington remains to be seen.
Doug Wilks is editor of the Deseret News.