Intemperate leader

As we approach the 2020 election, President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating is the highest of any president at any time. If, as he suggested, he is the “greatest of all presidents,” then why is he viewed so unfavorably? We need look no further than Mr. Trump’s mismanagement of the pandemic as the root cause, although public sentiment is not reflective of an isolated event. For three and a half years, our country has been subjected to the machinations of an intemperate leader.

Mr. Trump’s foreign policy failures barely register in the minds of the average American. The most powerful man in the world was no match for Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s manchild dictator, with whom Mr. Trump “fell in love.” North Korea’s defiance to commit to measurable denuclearization remains unchanged.

On the domestic front, Americans have witnessed Mr. Trump’s relentless attempts to subvert the Constitution. His disdain for the rule of law is well documented. Calling for the incarceration of political enemies and suppression of a free press is the work of autocrats, not the head of state in a democracy.

This country sought its independence by seeking “to dissolve the political bands” with an oppressive monarchy. After 244 years, we must remind ourselves the authority of our leaders is finite. The 2020 presidential election is the last line of defense against the total and complete subversion of the Constitution by Mr. Trump, who, ironically, is responsible under Article II for the execution and enforcement of laws.

JIM PALADINO

Tampa, Fla.