Sincere, or insincere, words
Trump likes to ‘eat chalk’
Re: “El Paso death toll rises; Trump condemns racism,” (Front page, Aug. 6:) In German, the term “kreide fressen,” eating chalk, is still an idiom for an insincere attempt to make nice. This is exactly what we heard from the president on Monday.
Whether Trump is a genuine racist or just plays one on reality TV is immaterial; he has empowered and encouraged the genuine racists to crawl out from under their rocks, with deadly results. No matter how much chalk he eats, Trump is still the same person who defamed Mexico and Mexican Americans, savored chants of “Send them back,” and coarsened the tone of political dialogue in this country.
Trump declared, “Hate has no place in our country,” which shows he can read someone else’s text without ad-libbing (except on Toledo). But it would be credible only if he went on to say, “I am therefore canceling my Twitter account, effective immediately.” Let’s hope and pray the American electorate won’t be taken in by this chalk-eating fraud. Walter D. Kamphoefner, Bryan
Murders not Trump’s fault
Re: “GOP offers prayers, Democrats decry inaction,” (Page A26, Aug. 4): The Democrats wasted no time in placing blame for the tragic mass murders in El Paso on President Donald Trump. Before the investigation was close to being completed, Democratic candidate for president Robert Francis O’Rourke stood before the cameras and emotionally claimed that these murders were Trump’s fault because he is a white nationalist and a racist. Never mind that there is no evidence that Trump ever expressed racism or white nationalism.
He is a patriot and a nationalist, of course, bent on ensuring that the United States is represented first and foremost in his administration. For O’Rourke to make the claim that Trump was responsible for the act of a lunatic is akin to saying Beto, the fake name he goes by, was responsible for every murder committed in El Paso while he was on City Council.
Racism, plain simple
Let’s be clear, this isn’t a mental health issue or a video game problem (“El Paso death toll rises; Trump condemns racism,” (Front page, Aug. 6:).
This homegrown terrorism is all about hatred for those who are not white. To call it any other thing is simply a distraction from the issue.
We don’t need anymore pithy excuses; we need action. Trudy L Huwyler, Sugar Land
Trump isn’t anti-immigrant
Re: “Many El Pasoans blame Trump for ‘target’ on their backs,” (Front page, Aug. 5): This article contains a blatantly false statement. The writers quote El Pasoans who place the blame squarely on President Donald Trump for the anti-immigrant rhetoric now rampant in Texas. That is pure garbage.
Trump has never said he is anti-immigrant. Let’s get that straight. What he did say, and I and millions of others totally agree, is that he is against illegal immigration and open borders. Period. He welcomes all immigrants, but they must come here legally.
I defy anyone to point to a statement Trump made wherein he embraced unequivocal anti-immigrant feelings. Mike Gonzales, Houston
BIBLE VERSE
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. Psalm 6:2