Speaker Johnson should support judicial system, not Trump
The specter of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appearing at the Trump trial in New York to support the former president and disparage the court system was deplorable.
This man is second in line to the U.S. presidency and should support the American judicial system and the rule of law, not call the proceedings “corrupt” and a “ridiculous prosecution.”
There has been no credible criticism of the trial from reputable authorities; on the contrary, there is widespread belief that the trial has been conducted in a fair and competent manner by the presiding judge.
After Johnson had recently worked with Democrats to pass several bills of national importance, it gave me some hope that the speaker showed some signs of bipartisan leadership. But when he felt compelled to display his fealty to the former president in such an obsequious manner, I realized that for him, it is politics above the Constitution.
LARRY J. PETT, ATLANTA
Nation’s debt will keep rising if Trump takes office
I guess we can’t blame former president Donald Trump entirely for the situation we are in. The American people have been groomed to believe that taxes are bad, and we have lulled ourselves into a $34 trillion debt. Give Trump four more years, and we will be more than $40 trillion in the hole.
There is plenty of blame to go around. Both parties built this debt. This debt will undermine our ability to provide for national defense and any effort to protect social programs. China builds high-speed trains, and we can’t barely agree on maintaining roads and bridges.
We need to be a beacon of hope, not a cautionary tale. Our diversity was once our strength; Trump exploits it and makes it a weakness. Between the debts Trump will run up and the bitterness of his rhetoric, he will leave us much worse off. The leaders of Russia, China and North Korea must be thrilled.
BOB LOWTHER, DALLAS
