Letters to the editor can be submitted to news@chronline.com.
President Donald Trump wants to be a dictator. He has repeatedly demonstrated that he admires only dictators, such as Russia’s Putin, the Philippine’s Duterte, and North Korea’s Kim. He even praised Saddam Hussein.
He is actively undermining and casting doubt on a pillar of our democracy — our entire election system — and declaring it corrupt! Trump is more of a threat to our democracy than Russia, and we know Russia is actively interfering (although Trump won’t listen to any negative information about Putin).
Trump is refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he should lose the election. Is he planning a coup?
He systematically works to discredit and intimidate the free press (he has called them the “enemy of the people”). He told Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes that he demeans and discredits the press so that people won’t believe negative stories written about him.
He has cultivated his own pro-Trump media: Fox, One America News, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. They echo and promote his lies.
He demands people in his government pledge loyalty to him. He pressures those in the military to do his bidding. He used gas and federal agents to clear peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. for his photo-op at a church. He has fired various inspectors general, who are supposed to conduct independent oversight of our government. He uses the power of his office to reward fans (with money, power and pardons) and demean and belittle anyone who disagrees with him. He maligns protesters of police brutality, while supporting white supremacists and far-right protesters.
Perhaps most horrifying, Trump has said on more than one occasion to groups of white supporters, most recently at his rally in Minnesota on Sept. 18, that they “have good genes. It’s the racehorse theory.” This is the language used by the Nazi’s to rationalize the Holocaust.
Now, 489 national security experts from both parties, including military leaders, have just released a statement that they support Biden, saying Trump is not fit to be president.
Our Constitution is much more than the Second Amendment, and our democracy is more than just the president. It is astonishing that his fans can’t understand this. His fans, who wrap themselves in our flag and say they love our Constitution and our country, are content to support Trump as he systematically dismantles both. Our founding fathers (however flawed) wrote our Constitution to provide for a free press (not just a press that praises our president); they promoted peaceful protest against our government; they provided for three co-equal branches of government (Trump does not have unlimited power, as he claims).
In World War II, over 400,000 members of the military died while successfully defending our country and our democracy from dictators. Trump’s fans, however, don’t care at all about any of this. As long as Trump says he is protecting the Second Amendment and protecting white people from all people of color, his easily manipulated fans are ecstatic.
Frank Hackett
Onalaska
