I wish I could take credit for making this observation, but I cannot.
I’ll give credit to Chuck Todd, moderator of “Meet the Press” and NBC News’s chief political correspondent.
Last night, after their big victories in their respective presidential primaries, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spoke to their faithful followers.
Todd noted a great unspoken from both of them: They didn’t “congratulate each other” for becoming their parties’ presumptive presidential nominees.
Todd noted that going back to the 2000 election season, candidates have reached across to offer a word of thanks to their opponents forĀ reaching an important and hard-fought milestone.
Al Gore congratulated George W. Bush in 2000; President Bush did the same in 2004 when John Kerry crossed the “presumptive” threshold; John McCain offered kudos to Barack Obama in 2008; and President Obama did the same when Mitt Romney became his party’s presumptive nominee in 2012.
This year? Nothing. Not a word of congratulations from either Trump the Republican or Clinton the Democrat.
Surprised at that? Me, neither.
Trump has labeled Clinton as “Crooked Hillary”; Clinton has said that Trump is “temperamentally unfit to be commander in chief.”
Todd has reason to worry now about what lies ahead as Clinton and Trump battle each other for the presidency.
If the absence of anything approaching a kind word about the opposition in their moments of triumph is any indication, we’re in for an extremely rough and uncivil campaign.