"We have such a great country right now," President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.
Yet the United States is a long way from the fabled sense of security encapsulated by Ronald Reagan's " Morning in America" re-election ad.
This week, the White House could not bring itself to condemn a racist attack by Roseanne Barr, one of Trump's most vocal supporters.
But in a turbulent time, kids now talk openly about the possibility of being shot at school.
Trump's own revolt against the boundaries of his power has the country perpetually on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.
Many conservatives differ with the idea that the 44th president was a conciliator or a unifying force.
Another leader soon to exit the stage, John McCain, is also pining for a time when political acrimony was less intense. »