Critiques of Trump, on Many Fronts

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/opinion/critiques-trump.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Trump Foresees National Guard Securing Border” (front page, April 4):

President Trump’s latest tirade is a transparent ploy to press Congress for money to build his wall. His pattern is becoming tiresome: Do something outrageous as a negotiating tactic.

Threatening to deploy our military to guard our border with Mexico also sends Mexico a message: You are not a friend; you are an adversary.

Mexico cannot trust Mr. Trump’s volatility. Its government should respond by sending the Mexican military to the border to let the United States know that it will not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty.

Nearly every day Mr. Trump breaks new erratic ground in creating chaos. Why would he stop now?

WILLIAM GOLDMANPALOS VERDES ESTATES, CALIF.

To the Editor:

Re “Trump’s Perversion of Leadership,” by Frank Bruni (column, April 4):

It is in his contempt for the very office he holds, his effort to make the presidency bend to him instead of giving it the respect it deserves and that we demand, that Donald Trump does the most damage.

He luxuriates in his boorishness, somehow perceiving that changing what came before means repudiating every shred of decency, renouncing every ounce of compassion, rejecting every hint of morality.

Even as we watched others in this office falter, we never sensed that the very essence of what made us a great country was under attack. We took comfort in the unshakable belief that our highest office was bigger than any one person, that its underlying principles were greater than the mistakes of omission or commission of any temporary holder, our structure stronger than any errors committed on one person’s watch.

But that understanding has been shaken to the core. President Trump has made us question the fundamental belief of the greatness of the office of the presidency. And beyond all else, this we can never forgive.

ROBERT S. NUSSBAUM, FORT LEE, N.J.

To the Editor:

Re “Firms Shudder as Trump’s Tweets Mean Business” (front page, April 4):

Shouldn’t our president be promoting American business in general, not denigrating specific companies? Just one more example of insensitivity at the White House.

MADELEINE B. GRANTNEEDHAM, MASS.