What does “taking full responsibility” actually mean, if anything?

It’s an unequivocal admission of wrongdoing without attributing any amount of blame to other people. I don’t think there’s an inherent requirement in that statement that requires some action to follow. If I “take full responsibility” for eating the last cookie, or leaving the toilet seat up, does that mean I need to “resign” from my marriage with a divorce? That doesn’t really make sense.

Obviously in some contexts, an unequivocal admission of wrongdoing would require one to resign depending on the offense and the position, of course. In those cases it’s not the “acceptance of the full responsibility” that creates this obligation, it’s the inherent contradiction that arises from whatever was done and the position they hold (e.g. being a priest and a child molester).

Compare that to the number of people who lie with, “I was hacked!” or “she’s a liar!”, or blame an “overzealous staffer”.

“I did it.” Let the voters decide if they care or not.

Compare “I take full responsibility” with “if anyone was offended, I apologize”.

Judging from what he did not say, he apparently believes that what he did was not that bad, does not require a public apology, and should not disqualify him from running for office. The voters have the final say.

In this context it just means that he’s openly admitting to his behavior.

It could just be meaningless words, saying what’s presumably expected. But it could mean not only “I take full blame” (and not someone else, including the woman) but also “I promise to do right by my wife.” What that means would be up to her.

It’s the current political climate equivalent of crocodile tears. He said the appropriate words to give his base reason to justify his lack of moral choices. I do NOT see it as the same as “taking the last cookie” & I DO feel that his wife should divorce him & it should give many voters pause before voting for him!!! He more or less said “I did it & what you going to do about it???”

The girlfriend, the wife, & the voters should should ALL boot him out!!!

@LadyMarissa You presume you know the terms of his marriage. None of us know the truth of other people’s marriages, what a couple works out that allows their marriage to continue is their business and no one else’s.

^ I didn’t presume anything…simply giving my OPINION!!!

IF the gf & wife choose to stay with him, they are getting what “they” desire/deserve. I don’t see what he did as accepting full responsibility for anything!!! He’s still saying “I did it & what you going to do about it???” & I still think he needs to be left alone to reflect on his actions IF they’ll cheat once, they will sure do it twice given a blank slate…he can’t cheat on you IF you’re NOT there!!!

I think he is limiting what he means by “Full Responsibility”. You can’t take “full responsibility” and then go on as if nothing happened. Let’s do a what if for a moment. What if….Donald Trump was caught sexting with someone. Think he could just give a “I take full responsibility” and then think the whole thing should just go away? In my mind, taking “full responsibility” includes atoning for your wrongs. He wronged his wife. He abused his position. He likely embarrassed his children. He has shown that most of what he had to say about his marriage is window dressing show he has lied to his supporters. How does just admitting to his indiscretion atone for any of this?

@seawulf575 Infidelity and lying to supporters seem to be a huge sins in your eyes.

Let me guess. You don’t believe Trump has any affairs and that he paid off women to keep them quiet.

And he never lies. Ever. Except when his lips are moving.

@Call_Me_Jay I know Trump has had affairs. It is well documented in some cases. But your comment really does make my point for me. Again. You seem to think that infidelity and lying to supporters to be a huge sin…as demonstrated by your comment about Trump. So why do you give Cunningham a pass? why aren’t you just as zealous about his actions as you are about Trump’s?

You seem to think that infidelity and lying to supporters to be a huge sin

I wrote nothing of the sort. In fact my first comment belies it. You’re flailing. Sad.

@Call_Me_Jay You don’t believe Trump has any affairs and that he paid off women to keep them quiet. Hmmm…seems an awfully random thing to be concerned with if you don’t believe infidelity and lying to supporters to be a huge sin.

@seawulf575 , You are the one who brought up these issues:

He abused his position. He likely embarrassed his children. He has shown that most of what he had to say about his marriage is window dressing show he has lied to his supporters. How does just admitting to his indiscretion atone for any of this?

How does this not apply to Trump, apart from admitting to anything?

@LostInParadise Did Trump say “I take full responsibility” for his actions? That is the tie. The question is whether saying that is enough or if there should be more. Please note that nowhere did I say he should drop out of the race. I’m not sure that is the right “atonement”. But merely making that statement and not publicly abasing himself to his wife and kids or apologizing for his actions to his followers doesn’t meet my definition of taking full responsibility. Do I believe that Trump should also take responsibilities for his actions? Sure. Do I believe he has? That I don’t know since I’m not privy to his private life. Some of his actions and affairs are age old and he has paid in the form of divorce settlements. But let’s put it apples to apples. IF it suddenly came out that Trump was caught sexting with some intern or the wife of a friend (which Cunningham also did), and it was suddenly aired for the world to see, then he should be doing the same…abasing himself to his wife and family and followers. I felt the same way when Bill Clinton was being accused of having an affair with Monica. When it became a big deal, he would have been far better off if he had just said “yes, I did it. I’ve told Hillary and Chelsea and have asked their forgiveness. I’m sorry to all my followers for showing such poor judgment.” It would have blown away as an issue like so much fluff and he would have looked much better. Instead, he lied and tried covering it up. He looked slimy and was eventually impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. You can thank Republicans that he was not removed from office.

So what makes the difference is that Cunningham admitted to what he did and Trump did not.

And the Democrats did not need any Republican votes to keep Clinton from being removed from office. They had 45 votes and all they needed was 34. Link