The doomsaying about Trump 2.0 is coming true
Stamford, Conn.: When historians examine President Trump, they will inevitably document his extraordinary power abuse. But Trump’s rogue behavior isn’t solely the result of a corrupt individual driven by greed and malignant narcissism. It’s also the consequence of a flawed constitutional system that assumes good faith in the discharge of presidential power, even if none exists.
The Constitution rests on the premise that elected officials will govern with a genuine commitment to the public good. The framers did anticipate deviance and designed checks and balances to restrain the maneuvers of an autocratic leader. What they failed to guard against is a president willing to habitually disregard the law itself. Our democracy depends on the executive branch to enforce congressional legislation and comply with judicial rulings. When a president, the executive branch chief, ignores court orders or statutory law, the constitutional framework collapses. In theory, impeachment or removal under the 25th Amendment provides protection. But those remedies become meaningless when partisan loyalty supersedes constitutional duty.
Every nation has aspiring demagogues and charlatans. The United States is no exception. But when one reaches the White House, democratic institutions can be dismantled brick by brick, precisely what we are witnessing today. Our government can only survive presidential abuse of power through the courage of judges to rule honorably and from legislators to place country over party.
Regrettably, courts increasingly stocked with slavish loyalists and a flaccid Congress paralyzed by fear have neutered the Founders’ safeguards. The obliteration of our constitutional democracy is no longer theoretical. It is unfolding in real time. Peter Janoff
Mental head of state
Paramus, N.J.: How much proof do we need? The Orange Felon is clearly mentally disturbed. Twenty-fifth Amendment time. Tom Greff
Senatorial support
Brooklyn: Trump is completely destroying America’s reputation as the “great arsenal of democracy.” We already lost Canada and now a whole slew of European allies are about to reconsider our relationship. Who is ultimately to blame here? The answer, from my perspective, is the Republican-controlled Senate, which knows better. Most of them are traditional supporters of institutions like NATO who know full well the threat of Russia, yet simply look the other way and provide zero pushback against this unhinged and tyrannical president. Irwin Cantos
Tragic distractions
Manhattan: Corrupt Mafia Don is shaking down Europe to take over Greenland because he wasn’t awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Last week, he threatened to bomb Iran because its theocratic government is killing protesters at the same time that Trump’s Gestapo shot dead an innocent American mommy and kidnaps Black and Brown people willy-nilly just because. The week before, he kidnapped Venezuela’s president and wife. Before that, the Epstein files. Oh yeah, what happened to the Justice Department not complying with a new federal law to release all the Epstein files? This is all a tragic distraction — yes, Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone.” My prediction: Trump will soon focus on taking over Cuba and making Marco Rubio president there. And while the world is trying to keep up with Trump’s derangement syndrome, no one is talking about what’s not happening in Ukraine and Gaza with his supposed ceasefire and peace plan. Jeff Natt
Greenland imbroglio
Cincinnati: Sometimes our bellicose president is right, and all of us must tolerate his rushing about and candid expressions of honesty, like the obvious idea that Denmark and NATO without the U.S. can’t defend Greenland if Russia and China decide otherwise. Trump was correct to put NATO on the rack and threaten to turn the screw of withdrawing from NATO absent the funding approved by treaty signatories many years ago. The former secretary general of the alliance lauded this action during Trump’s first term of agita, and his successor has seconded the notion. American ownership of Greenland is a security issue for the alliance, was proposed by others long before Trump got presidential stars in his eyes, would be a relief for Denmark and the alliance and would be a boon for citizens of the frozen island. Other than bitter and wrenching headlines of a Trump triumph, what has NATO to lose? Paul Bloustein
As the curtains close
Melbourne, Australia: In the background of the photo of Trump getting a nicely framed piece of metal — the noble Nobel that you can’t really give away — there is a copy of the Declaration of Independence, but why does it have curtains? It’s a copy, as the original is too delicate and faded, so it doesn’t need to be out of the sunlight. Is it there to remind Trump of why and how the country was founded? He doesn’t seem to know much about the Constitution either, so a prominent copy in the Oval Office would also be a good move. Why the curtains? Perhaps so they can be put in the dark while the president rains havoc on their content. The curtains might also be fireproof in case the documents explode into flames as he signs the next executive order. Most countries have a constitution to guide their leaders and people, but rarely has one been so under attack from one person. Dennis Fitzgerald
Noble indeed
Yonkers: To Voicer Bob Smagula: What’s the big deal about Trump’s misspelling regarding the Nobel Peace Prize? Sure, the Nobel is a noble prize. Frank Brady
Misremembered message
Whiting, N.J.: Voicer Joann Lee Frank has outdone herself this time. People in Minneapolis should be more appreciative of ICE removing criminals from their neighborhoods? Criminals like Renee Good? She then posits that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would urge leaders to turn down the rhetoric. King may use different language, but I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be backing what Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s thugs are up to. The streets of Minneapolis and other cities in this country will be safer when ICE is off of them. Bill McConnell
Inward invasion
Brooklyn: I was unaware that Minnesota is a foreign country until I woke up Sunday morning. Am I the only one? Jon Sigall
History is clear
Orange, Conn.: To Voicer Bradley Morris: You completely missed the point of my letter. Peaceful protest is permitted by our citizens in a democratic society against outrageous violence currently perpetrated by the National Guard and ICE. Assaulting, beating and killing citizens without just cause and without a legal warrant, basing it all on the color of their skin or the language they’re speaking, was a tactic of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis and Benito Mussolini’s Blackshirts. Stop watching distorted TV news and pick up a history book. Hitler murdered more than 6 million Jews in Europe just because they were Jewish. Mussolini shot and killed his countrymen because he wished to establish a totalitarian country and suppress political opposition, resulting in thousands of arrests, jailings and killings. Kent State University student protests were peaceful opposing the Vietnam War and the presence of the National Guard on campus. Four students were murdered for protesting. Fred Portoff
Maligned group
Smithtown, L.I.: Voicer Nick Smith apparently doesn’t know what the definition of Zionism is. It’s being proud of your religion and desiring a majority state. Not all Zionists think alike politically or ideologically. If you use Nick’s words about Zionists and apply them to other oppressed groups, like African-Americans, you’d be a racist or bigot. And Nick proves his bigotry with every anti-Zionist letter he writes. Andrew Ross
Solid selection
Brooklyn: To Voicer Bob Lovell, who questioned the Giants hiring of John Harbaugh as their new head coach: I was fortunate to have been printed here on this page recently calling for the firing of head coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and feel strongly that the Giants have begun to swing the franchise in the right direction with the Harbaugh hire. Mr. Lovell, you question Harbaugh’s resume? Who should the Giants have hired? One of those “hot” head coach candidates like Kevin Stefanski or Mike McDaniel who did nothing with their last teams? I think I speak for most of Big Blue Nation when I say kudos, Giants, for hiring Harbaugh. Jimmy Orr
