OPINION:
America loves a comeback story like no other nation on Earth. After all, comebacks are an important part of the American narrative.
Consider George Washington leading the defeated and broken Continental Army across the Delaware to destroy the Hessians and ultimately surge to victory in the Revolutionary War. Or President Abraham Lincoln, suffering the repeated failures of the Union armies under his command until the victory at Gettysburg and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s arrival to take command of the Army of the Potomac, which led to the South’s surrender and the deliverance of the slaves from bondage.
Or President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the 1930s, as the head of a nation way down and counted out, pulling her off the mat and winning the greatest conflict the world had ever seen. Or more recently, President Ronald Reagan, who recovered after being shot and vibrantly charted a new course to restore our economy, reinforce the foundations of liberty, and win the Cold War.
America is replete with comeback stories, which are central to our history and our understanding of that history. Without them, our experience and history as a nation would be less comprehensible.
Stories about overcoming adversity, staying the course and ultimately succeeding inspire us. Our familiarity with the comeback narrative amplifies support for anyone who once succeeded mightily, was unjustly or untimely laid low, and fought back to the pinnacle again. The more challenging the journey, the more supporters gained on the path back to the top. The tough journey inspires more people willing to lend a hand or add a voice to a swelling crowd. By the end, the victory and success become a collective journey and destination for all who joined along the way.
Comebacks also trigger strong feelings of support from many because people see elements of their own lives at play in any comeback battle. Everyone has at least one moment in their lives when unfairness treated them ill or left them hurt, confused and behind. In at least some of those moments, most of us have persevered and overcome. That experience helps people identify with and extend support and advocacy to those traveling the same road.
To lend someone a hand on his journey back to the top enhances the connection and support between people every step along the way. Building an army of supporters, expanding the common cause, and ultimately winning the battle restores what has been lost and makes the victor stronger. It also durably connects all those who have helped the journey along the way with the victor’s success and makes them even stronger advocates for him in the years to come.
We are living through such a moment in America. Donald Trump fought to the top of business, decided to enter presidential politics and won the highest office in the land. He left office the subject of scorn and derogation with the law, and the left snapped at his heels.
Yet through travails that would test the best of us, he persevered, earned his party’s support, and stands poised to reclaim the White House as president of the United States. A mercifully failed assassination attempt recently gave this perseverance emphatic punctuation.
For many on the left, Mr. Trump’s comeback beggars belief. They are intentionally deaf to the people’s voice and the ambitions and hopes of American voters. Their certainty that they know better than their fellow citizens encourages them to find ways to undo what happens at the ballot box presses them to muffle the voices of the electorate in any forum they can find and pushes them to drive the legal system for partisan ends.
Mr. Trump’s comeback journey is part of what makes his effort to reclaim the presidency and rally supporters to his banner incredibly strong. This fall, voters will finish the greatest American comeback our nation has witnessed. Once he is in office again, the Trump agenda will restore America’s greatness.
• Eric Ueland is a former White House and State Department official under President Donald Trump.
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