President Trump is devaluing the presidency and endangering our country

Diane S. Kolmer, West Des Moines
Letter to the Editor
President Donald Trump speaks during a "Made in America" roundtable event in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday, July 19, in Washington.

In a July 23 letter to the editor, Steve Bakke, a supporter of President Donald Trump, when asked why he supports Trump, admits, “I have been at a loss.” Bakke states that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama used the “Alinsky Method” in their campaigns, “ridiculing the opposition and making it personal,” and now Trump is doing the same thing.

Bakke cites an article that says George W. Bush tried fighting with dignity, John McCain tried fighting with collegiality and Mitt Romney tried fighting with propriety, and all have been ineffective. Ultimately, Bakke says he and other Republicans that defend Trump can only defend him because he fights back.

Empty on issues or facts, watching a bully prevaricate is reason enough to support Trump destroying civil norms, legal authorities and diplomatic history according to Bakke. He justifies Trump’s insults and lying as “subliminally satisfying." 

Our country is not a playground to use childish behaviors to endanger our citizens with the removal of any social safety net, by allowing Russia to infiltrate our electoral process and by alienating our historical diplomatic allies as the world encounters more complex and dangerous conflicts. Being “at a loss” to describe his support of Trump is vacuous and matches how Trump is devaluing the presidency and endangering our country.

— Diane S. Kolmer, West Des Moines