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In a sad week for America, Trump has fled from his duty
May 31, 2020 1 min, 52 secs
He called protesters in Minneapolis "thugs" and repeated a racist line from a Miami police chief years ago, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." He even retweeted a video in which a supporter says, "The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat."

But other than a brief tweet in the midst of another storm, Trump remained silent on the most sensitive issue of his presidency: the pandemic that is killing so many older Americans and people of color living near the edge.

But we should pause for one more moment to recognize how sad and sharp a departure his silence is from past traditions of the presidency.

Since the early days of the Republic until now, Americans have looked to our presidents to provide protection, meaning and comfort, especially in moments of crisis.

After George Washington was sworn as commander in chief of the Continental Army, Ethan Allen's younger brother, Levi, wrote to Washington in 1776 that he had become "Our political Father and head of a Great People." Shortly thereafter, Washington was frequently referred to as "Father of Our Country." As he steered us through war, the constitutional convention, and two terms as President, the phrase caught on.

Even so, several of our recent presidents have found moments when they can unify us and make us feel that at the end of the day, we are indeed one people.

In many cases, these moments have come to define their presidencies: Ask any American adult and they can generally remember one, two or even three occasions in which recent presidents connected with us emotionally, stirring our hearts.

I remember with absolute clarity the Challenger disaster in 1986.

As I recall, that's when presidents were first called "Mourners in Chief" -- a phrase that has been applied repeatedly to presidents since.

Thinking about the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, one's mind returns to the image of the President of the United States leading a memorial service, singing "Amazing Grace."

Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama -- two Republicans, two Democrats -- served as our "Mourners in Chief." All four bound us together for a few moments, and we remembered who we are and who we can be.

Why has our current "Mourner in Chief" gone AWOL?

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