The fastest way to unite a room is to declare something with which they all agree.

If I walk into a bar in Philly and say something pro-Eagles, everyone will raise a glass. If I am in Texas and declare that Texans are the finest people on Earth, few would challenge it. If I stood in a room of Republicans in October of 2024 and said that we needed to rally behind Donald J. Trump, every voice would shout agreement.

These statements leverage what I call in my book the "inarguable" approach: you begin with a statement of fact or principle with which no one would disagree.

Timeless principles unite us. Irrefutable facts are inarguable. We find overwhelming agreement with these.

What divides us is tribalism. As I often tell my clients, "Principles unite, people divide." Stand in a room of Republicans in October of 2024 and announce that John Cornyn is the greatest Senator ever, and you just split the room.

Some would tell you that they're trying to unite Republicans when siding with elected Republicans who betray us. The 11th Commandment, they reason.

Pro-tip: the only people who ever cite the 11th Commandment are people defending Republicans who betray us, and they don't know the real story behind it. The chair of the California GOP created that to defend Reagan, who was running for governor, against the attacks of those who declared him too extreme in his conservatism. It wasn't created to defend squishy Republicans, but rather our strongest Republicans.

When a person defends a squishy Republican, they're choosing to align with a person who has betrayed our principles instead of aligning with our principles. That's divisive.

Those who feign a posture of "unity" by siding with people instead of our common and shared principles don't unite at all. They weaken our principles by strengthening those who betray our principles.

They do so because they crave proximity to power and money. Those who adhere to principles can't be moved by power or money away from those principles.

Unity comes when we champion principles and not people. Those who betray our principles must come back to our principles. The principles are timeless and should be followed. Weakness of character in abandoning principle deserves no followers. But if the weak choose to walk away, they are the ones who divide, not the ones who stick to principle.