Shining a spotlight on Trump’s failings

Dear Editor:

These last weeks have shone a spotlight on America’s failings. And Trump’s mishandling of the protests — and of the pandemic — has shone a spotlight on his. We need to keep those spotlights on. Otherwise, having divided and carved us up, Trump will take us down.

The time is opportune. Evangelists — even Pat Robertson! — are acknowledging that holding up a Bible is not the same as upholding it; the Washington, D.C., archbishop and other faith leaders agree, and for that and Trump’s general moral turpitude are repudiating him. Some Trump rally-goers and rank-andfilers are realizing they belong to a group — the have-nots — that a Trump-exacerbated pandemic has disproportionately ravaged and that Trump continues to ravage, pushing workers back into meat-packing plants and other dangerous situations.

Some whose pockets Trump fills are wondering, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) Grandparents are shuddering at the thought of leaving their grandchildren’s fates in Trump’s hands, and those grandchildren are on the march. Police officers are marching with them, and taking a stand by taking a knee. Emboldened by retired Gen. James Mattis, military leaders are denouncing Trump for demanding deployment of active-duty forces and brutalizing peaceful protesters for a photo op.

Several incumbent GOP politicians have finally voiced their long-held anti-Trump views. And ex-GOP leaders — George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, etc. — are piling on.

Let’s pile on as well. Primary Day is June 23. Vote: by absentee ballot; early in person, June 13-21; or on June 23. Remember: All votes matter!

Tom Cherwin

Saugerties