Trump’s record shows he’s failed as president

Recent letters in the opinion section have defended Trump, often noting that he is “a little rough around the edges” but going on to claim that his presidency has been good for the country. Putting aside that dubious claim despite the mountain of evidence that it is not true, what is known as fact is bad enough.

He has failed as a businessman six times as his six bankruptcies attest. He has refused to pay workmen and subcontractors for completed work, giving them “take it or leave it” settlements. Trump University was sued for fraud and Trump settled the suit for $25 million. His Trump “charity” was shut down and he paid a $2 million fine because he was taking money from it for his personal use. He has treated Russia with deference while pushing back on American intelligence that uncovered Russian election interference in U.S. elections. Even more shocking was Trump’s disregard for intelligence that Russia paid bounties for dead U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan. He broke his promise to release his tax returns, something not required by law but done by every presidential candidate since the ’70s, and I repeat, he promised to release them. It is dishonorable to promise and not follow through, to not pay people who perform work for you, to lie, to use charitable contributions for your personal use, to not stand up for your country against foreign adversaries, to cheat people who trusted you.

But Trump’s defenders know Trump is not an honorable man. They are willing to look the other way when Trump is shown to be dishonest. What I do not understand is how they can look the other way as he mismanages the most important job in the world.

Currently, by any nonbiased account, Trump is and has been mismanaging the covid-19 pandemic. Never mind his declaring a ban on flights from China in January. His ban was only partial and is overshadowed by months of dithering away the time needed to get the virus under control. We have approximately 5% of the world’s population but we have almost 25% of the world’s cases and well over 20% of the world’s deaths. There is no way to spin that into an argument that Trump has managed this crisis well or even marginally competently.

I ask Trump’s supporters to look honestly at the record. The evidence is overwhelming that Trump is in over his head and not up to the job he has been given by the voters of this country. Every one of his Republican rivals in 2015 would likely have done a better job and still filled judicial vacancies with conservatives.

Trump is incompetent. He must be replaced before more damage is done.

ALLEN SEAY Fayetteville