Women vs. Trumpism

Re “Trump’s populism may last in GOP,” Oct. 25

There is a f law in the belief that Trumpism will continue to prevail after this year’s election. Trumpism suffers from a fatal f law that dooms it and the Republican Party.

Simply put, President Trump and his acolytes are afraid of and cannot handle strong women. When confronted with such women, Trump threatens them ( as he did with journalist Lesley Stahl) or calls them disparaging names ( as he did with Sens. Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren).

These actions simply turn off women voters. What is most surprising about this is that Trump wants to know why suburban women don’t like him.

Without the support of women, Trumpism and the Republican Party will ultimately fail. Marcy Sheinwold

Laguna Woods

The underlying message and tone of this kind of populism goes hand in hand with the mood in this country feeding an aggression and hostility we have not seen in decades.

As this article noted, former U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has endorsed a candidate known for bodyslamming a reporter. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seems to copy Trump’s rhetoric using blistering attacks instead of diplomacy.

At the same time, homicides and gun ownership are up. This trend has worsened since the start of the pandemic.

The correlation is not coincidental when our role model for dealing with stress and fear is a leader, supported by his minions, who has normalized anger and resentment as the guiding principles for governing.

I wish the Democrats had nominated a younger and more dynamic presidential candidate. But I would be content if Joe Biden manages to turn down the volume, normalize and improve relationships domestically and internationally, and bring back some civility.

Erika Blos Santa Barbara