Nation can’t afford to go through this again
It would be foolish for Donald Trump to run for president again in 2024. We cannot afford to put our country once more in the hands of an amoral manipulator who cares for little more than himself and his immense ego. Character counts in a president and his has been extraordinarily lacking.
Trump lied about the danger of the pandemic, challenged the expertise of public health officials and resisted the implementation of necessary precautions. He declared that the virus affects virtually nobody the day before the death toll from the disease in the U.S. topped 200,000.
Trump has intensified the worst tendencies in American politics: Under his leadership, the nation has grown more polarized, more paranoid and meaner. At the first presidential debate, Trump was asked to condemn White supremacists. Instead, he responded by instructing a violent gang, the Proud Boys, to “stand back and stand by.”
Trump ordered authorities to tear-gas peaceful protesters on a street in front of the White House and then posed for a photo-op holding a Bible in front of a church he does not attend.
He has directed administration officials not to testify before Congress or to provide documents, including his tax returns.
Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to announce an investigation of Joe Biden, his political rival.
He has denied the need for action on climate change and abandoned the push to limit auto emissions.
He has supported a cruel crackdown on
both legal and illegal immigration without proposing a sensible policy for determining who should be allowed to come into the U.S.
He has sought to persuade both Congress and the courts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act without proposing any substitute policy to provide Americans with access to affordable health care.
Trump delivered tax cuts that mostly benefited the rich.
He embraced dictators such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin, whom he treated with warmth and respect that defies explanation.
It would be wise for congressional Republicans to welcome President-elect Joe Biden, a breath of fresh air.
Bunny Landis, Oceanside