Okay, I have a question.
Where’s Donald Trump?
Because something pretty interesting just happened.
Remember the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?
The thing sitting between Abraham Lincoln and the Washington Monument?
One of the most recognizable pieces of real estate in the United States?
Well, we spent millions of dollars renovating it.
Then the damn thing started falling apart.
And Donald Trump had an explanation.
Vandals.
Somebody was out there cutting up the Reflecting Pool.
Apparently, somewhere in America there’s a criminal mastermind sitting at home thinking:
“Banks? Too much security.
Jewelry stores? Too many cameras.
I know!
I’ll attack a shallow pool in Washington, D.C.”
And Trump wasn’t vague about it.
He blamed vandals.
People were investigated.
Cases were brought.
And when prosecutors started dropping those cases, Trump publicly criticized his own U.S. attorney, Jeanine Pirro.
He said:
“I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro.”
Okay.
Fair enough.
If somebody vandalized a national monument, prosecute them.
I’m with you.
There’s just one little problem.
The contractor has now essentially said: Yeah…about that.
Turns out there were problems with the renovation itself.
According to reporting about the contractor’s findings, there wasn’t enough primer in some areas.
There were incompatible materials.
The layers reacted badly.
Things blistered.
Things separated.
In other words, apparently the Reflecting Pool wasn’t being attacked by an underground army of aquatic terrorists.
The damn renovation failed.
And suddenly everybody gets very quiet.
Which brings me back to my original question:
Where’s Trump?
Because this is where leadership gets interesting.
Leadership isn’t standing behind a microphone when you’re right.
That’s easy.
Leadership is standing behind the microphone when you’re wrong.
And saying:
“I got that one wrong.”
Five words.
That’s it.
You don’t have to resign.
You don’t have to flee the country.
You don’t have to move to Greenland.
Just say:
“I got that one wrong.”
Imagine how revolutionary that would be in American politics.
A politician admitting he was wrong.
CNN wouldn’t know what to do.
Fox wouldn’t know what to do.
MSNBC would have to call a meeting.
Congress might have to adjourn.
Some poor political consultant would run into the room screaming:
“STOP! YOU’RE SHOWING HUMANITY!”
Because apparently we’ve created a political system where admitting a mistake is considered weakness.
I think it’s exactly the opposite.
I think it’s strength.
And this isn’t really about Donald Trump.
It’s not even about the Reflecting Pool.
It’s about something much bigger.
Accountability.
That’s what I’ve been talking about with the Truth Party from day one.
Not Republican accountability.
Not Democratic accountability.
American accountability.
You make a claim?
Stand behind it.
You spend taxpayer money?
Tell us where it went.
You accuse somebody of a crime?
You’d better have evidence.
And when new evidence comes along that contradicts what you said?
Correct the record.
That’s not liberal.
That’s not conservative.
That’s called being a grown-up.
And here’s the part that bothers me.
Somebody could have gotten seriously screwed here.
Imagine being accused of damaging one of America’s most famous monuments.
Your name is associated with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Maybe you’re prosecuted.
Maybe you’re dragged through the press.
Maybe your family sees it.
Maybe your employer sees it.
And then months later somebody says:
“Well…turns out the primer wasn’t quite right.”
THE PRIMER?!
I’d be standing outside the courthouse screaming:
“YOU ALMOST SENT ME TO JAIL OVER PAINT PREPARATION!”
And that’s exactly why facts matter.
Because government isn’t Twitter.
Government isn’t Facebook.
Government isn’t some guy at the end of the bar saying he heard something from his cousin.
Government has enormous power.
It can investigate you.
It can prosecute you.
It can take your freedom.
Which means the people exercising that power have an extraordinary responsibility to get the facts right.
And when they don’t?
They have an extraordinary responsibility to admit it.
That’s the lesson here.
And that’s why this stupid Reflecting Pool story actually matters.
It’s a tiny little example of what’s wrong with American politics.
Something happens.
Everybody immediately picks a side.
Someone gets blamed.
The cameras arrive.
The politicians start talking.
Everybody becomes absolutely certain about what happened.
And then six months later…
the facts show up.
Poor facts.
They’re always late to the party.
Everybody’s already drunk.
Republicans are fighting Democrats.
Democrats are fighting Republicans.
Cable television has seventeen people yelling simultaneously.
And the facts walk through the door going:
“Excuse me…I believe somebody ordered evidence?”
That’s the Truth Party.
Let the facts through the damn door.
And I don’t care whose politician gets embarrassed.
Trump.
A Democrat.
A Republican.
The mayor.
The governor.
Me.
If I stand up here tomorrow and tell you something that turns out to be bullshit, you should call me on it.
And I should say:
“You’re right. I was wrong.”
Because we’re never going to fix this country if everybody’s primary objective is protecting their own ego.
We’re human beings.
We’re going to screw up.
Presidents screw up.
Contractors screw up.
Prosecutors screw up.
And God knows I’ve screwed up.
The question isn’t whether you make mistakes.
The question is:
What do you do when the truth catches up with you?
So, Mr. President…
The contractor has spoken.
We’ve heard its explanation.
We’ve heard about the primer.
We’ve heard about the materials.
We’ve heard about the problems with the renovation.
You blamed vandals.
You criticized prosecutors for dropping the cases.
Now you’ve got new information.
So here’s your opportunity.
No speechwriter required.
No teleprompter.
No 47-minute press conference.
Just answer one simple question:
Were you wrong?
And if you were…
say it.
Because admitting you’re wrong doesn’t make you weak.
It makes you accountable.
And accountability is something this country desperately needs.
That’s the whole idea behind the Truth Party.
We’re not looking for perfect leaders.
We’re looking for leaders capable of telling the truth when the truth is inconvenient.
Because anybody can tell the truth when it makes them look good.
Character is what happens when it doesn’t.
And right now…
we’re waiting.
Mr. President — the contractor fessed up.
Will you?
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