Historian McCullough to Republicans in Congress: ‘Stand up’ to President Trump

David McCullough is trying to stage an intervention with Congress.

The renowned historian’s latest book, “The American Spirit,” a collection of speeches he has delivered over the past three decades, begins with his 1989 address to a joint session of Congress and ends with 2016 remarks in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, both of which included calls for lawmakers to live up to the history of the building.

This week, his publisher, Simon & Schuster, is delivering the book to every member of the House and Senate with an inscription letting them know they “can enact change and help close the gap to common ground.”

If they still do not get the message, McCullough is happy to be more clear: Stand up to President Trump.

“I recommend that people in public office stand up and speak out, and particularly in the halls of the great Congress of the United States, that absolute acropolis that we’ve created on Capitol Hill,” McCullough said in a 40-minute interview this week. ...