A Tale of Two Presidents
From Nov 7, 2020
I wrote a piece on Nov 7, 2020, when President Biden was elected. I was so happy to see empathy and compassion come back in the White House - true American values. Seeing Biden and Harris at the funeral for Melissa and Mark Hortman in Minnesota yesterday and Trump’s absence - reminds me - as if we needed reminding - of how sad we are as a county. Again.
Nov 7, 2020
A Tale of Two Presidents
President-elect Joe Biden came to Nashville while he was the Vice President. He came to give a speech at the National League of Cities, a keynote address, where he spoke passionately about the role cities play in the fabric of our country. He spoke about the importance of investing in cities and celebrating the diversity of cities. I was a newly-elected mayor and it was my honor to greet the then-Vice President on the tarmac when he arrived. As I stood with his team, they told me that he might ask me to ride with him to the speech and he did. We spent 20 minutes together and he spent the entire time asking me what Nashville needed, how he could help us and I sat, in awe, of this humble public servant.
The next time I was in the company of a President was when I went as part of a delegation of mayors to the White House. We were told that President Trump wanted to discuss infrastructure investment in cities and to discuss with us what he could do to help. Instead, when we arrived, we were escorting into a press room and Trump vilified cities. He maligned our diversity and threatened sanctions against mayors he perceived as pro-immigrant. There was no offer of investment or help. He was already sowing seeds of division.
When our son, Max, died, my phone rang. It was President-elect Joe Biden. He was no longer in office. He had only met me once during that car ride and yet, he reached out to share our pain and to comfort us. He gave me his cellphone as he has done for a thousand other people in their time of need. “Call me anytime,” he said. And he meant it.
Did I receive any condolences from then President Trump? No. Not a word.
I am so grateful that we once again have someone in the White House who is full of compassion and cares deeply - about everyone.