President Pelosi?
Re “Trump suggests postponing the general election,” July 31
It was only a matter of time before President Trump suggested that the Nov. 3 election be postponed, and it has finally happened. The reasoning is Trump’s assertion that the upcoming contest will be the most corrupt in history, which would accurately characterize any election in which he is a candidate.
Never mind the fact that the Constitution affords a president no power whatsoever to postpone elections. Trump has not ever recognized any limitation on what he has the ability to do, hence his prior statement, “I have the right to do whatever I want as president.” Maybe with assistance from his attorney general and a crooked Republican Senate that looks the other way, he can find a way.
This follows the lifelong playbook of the president: If you know you cannot win legitimately, cheat. Does anyone believe Trump would be making the suggestion to postpone the election if he thought he would win?
Let’s make a deal, Mr. President: Congress and the people will agree to postpone the election indefinitely. But by law, your term ends on Jan. 20, 2021, at which point, if no election has been held, President Nancy Pelosi will be sworn in. Oren Spiegler, Peters Township, Pa.
There are different strategies that leaders use to remain in power.
They can try to pass constitutional amendments to weaken or abolish term limits (Bolivia, Egypt, Burundi, Venezuela and Russia, among many others), stage a military coup (which I witnessed in my native Argentina), retain their power by force or, as our president has done, make a suggestion: If the polls don’t fit, you must wait a bit.
Please, remember that our Constitution is a sacred document to be celebrated and respected. David S. Cantor
Los Angeles
The vote-by-mail “fraud” message should be called out for what it really is: the new Jim Crow. Jimmie Robertson
Laguna Niguel
Re “The GOP’s mail-in voting problem,” July 29
Trump has stated a foreign government could simply print ballots with candidates pre-selected.
There are 435 congressional districts. Each district has its own ballot, format and candidates. Even if they could successfully pull off what Trump has alleged, it would lead to duplication either in mail-in ballots or voting in person.
Since it has never happened, it’s hard to determine on what Trump bases his assertion.
The president has also said children can steal ballots out of mailboxes. Not only is that tampering with U.S. mail, which is a crime, but if the ballot is tampered with, it would be rather obvious.
And, speaking of tampering with the mail, isn’t that a similar problem to the postmaster general ordering workers to slow delivery, which could keep ballots from getting to their destination on time? Michael Solomon
Canoga Park
Re “Trump’s familiar playbook,” letters, July 30
Printing letters comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler is unconscionable.
Hitler was an evil man and planned murdering millions of people, including 6 million Jews, to create a pure German race. He was determined to become a dictator because he believed people were not capable of governing themselves.
As a Jewish person who lived during that time in history, I can say that nothing before or since has quite equaled his creation of extermination camps and the execution of people he deemed unfit.
The president’s decision to send federal officers to protect federal property in Portland has nothing in common with what happened in Germany, nor is it an attempt to stir up “racial fears among white people.” Marcia Jacobs
Culver City