Donald Trump failed to improve the lives of middle class Americans. His leadership consists of fraud and corruption

Opinion letter published in Lancaster OnLine:

Donald J. Trump is a master grifter. We all know it. Some of us protest against it. Some of us vote against it. Some of us purposely ignore it and vote for him — 😡😡😡again and again and again.

Here is a reminder of a few of Trump’s grifts and failures:

• Self-promoting advertisements paid for by taxpayers.
• Massive cryptocurrency windfalls.
• “Big, beautiful” tariffs.
•  An unnecessary and illegal war with Iran.
• Undermining the Affordable Care Act and cutting Medicaid.
• Eliminating the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order.
• Cutting taxes for wealthy Americans.
• Making it harder for veterans to find jobs and/or access to healthcare.
• Cutting some aid to rural America and small farms.
• Slashing some job training programs.
• Cutting some funding to housing, small businesses and energy programs.
• Reducing or eliminating pollution standards.
• Cutting clean water projects.
• Weakening anti-bribery and anti-corruption safeguards.
• Propping up the coal industry.
• Attacking voting rights.
• Expanding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (evil ICE) and widening its scope.
• Weakening some safeguards surrounding background checks and gun purchases.
•  Withholding some Title X funding.
•  Cutting public education funding and services.

I haven’t even touched on what Trump has done to the Department of Justice, to national security and to other areas. And his administration has increased the federal debt by more than 💲4 trillion since January 2025.

Trump wants us to pretend he is on the ballot. We don’t have to pretend. Figuratively, he is.

So, to independents, Republicans and Democrats, I say: Run, walk or crawl to the polls. Vote for democracy this November. Vote for Democrats❕ We cannot survive two more years❕

From: Anne Pyle in Warwick Township, Pennsylvaia

Donald Trump and his cult of enablers have desecrated our American democracy and must be voted out of office

Echo opinion letter published in Lancaster OnLine:

This is what I believe:  I see you, Donald Trump — a disingenuous man through and through. Lewd, crude, full of sound and fury signifying nothing, with not a single socially redeeming value attached to your name. 

All the fake political promises you make fall away like ash in the wind, and the darkest truth is this: You never intended to keep them. Serial lying 🤥🤥🤥will always be in your makeup; it is the engine of your politics. Those promises were never commitments. They were temporary vote-getters for Americans who still believed — perhaps naively — that our presidents, in the end, would choose the right thing.

Instead, we ahve witnessed and watched you foment a riot against the police who defended the U.S. capitol on January 6,  and then pardon the very individuals who ransacked the U.S. Capitol, an act that will forever stain the history of American democracy. 

This stain that will not wash out. And those who remain silent — or worse, twist themselves into knots trying to explain away that day — will find their names printed beside yours in the history books. A ledger of cowardice, complicity and moral failure. A record of those who stood by while the country trembled, unable to speak when the moment demanded courage. 💢

Donald Trump, you and your cult of enablers and sycophants have led our people astray. You have debased the office. You have diminished the heart and soul of America for the whole world to see. And the country will be left to reckon with the wreckage you leave behind.  Heaven help us all.

From: Pete Begley in Morristown, New Jersey

Vote Blue❕

Donald Trump and his evil obsession with Hitlerism

Donald Trump’s expansionism is a direct parallel to Adolf Hitler’s playbook. Trump floated the idea of expanding our country by making Canada the 51st state — not to mention his views on Greenland and Venezuela.

Echo opinion letter published in Lancaster Online:

This is exactly how Hitler kicked off World War II when he attempted to expand Germany’s territory by invading Poland. Anyone who thinks that these are empty threats by Trump should remember that his gross lack of sound judgment, coupled with the incompetent advisers he appointed, resulted in a senseless war with Iran without congressional approval.

Germany was a total one-party dictatorship under Hitler and Nazism.  

In my view, we now have more in common with Hitler’s dictatorship than we ever have had under any other U.S. president in my lifetime. Trump loves dictators and I believe that he would love to be a dictator. 

Trump hates and frequently attacks freedom of speech and the press and is doing everything possible to control our elections. That includes his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attempt to overthrow the free and fair election that he lost.

Trump essentially imposes (illegal❗) taxes on Americans through his tariffs, again without congressional approval. These were all characteristics of the Hitler regime, and most Republicans in Congress refuse to intervene.

To protect our democracy, it is absolutely essential that we vote Trump’s Republican cult loyalists out of office in the midterm elections.

From George Bliss in West Lampeter Township, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump is a danger to the entire world order he must be removed from office- Senator Susan Collins where are you?

Echo opinion letter published in Lancaster OnLine in Pennsylvania

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Trump’s threats of more violence set dangerous ⚠️example for the world [letter]

I am rarely shocked by Donald Trump, but he did say something extraordinarily shocking earlier this month that was barely covered.

On Fox (Fake❗) News, as Vice President JD Vance was in negotiations with Iranian representatives, Trump warned Iran over potentially reclosing the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “You close it and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your (strong expletive) country.”

Ignore the F-bomb that exemplifies Trump’s inability to regulate his emotions, ignore his now-commonplace threat to destroy the entirety of Iran, and focus on what’s left. The United States and Iran sent envoys to discuss the ceasefire and potential peace plan, and in a moment of belligerent petulance, Trump threatened to murder Iran’s envoys, who subsequently walked out.
Want to talk about Trump’s penchant for breaking norms❓ Threatening envoys has been perhaps the No. 1 diplomatic taboo, dating back more than 2,400 years to the Peloponnesian War. No matter how opposed you are to your enemy, you do not threaten envoys. It guarantees a continuation of violence.

Trump also broke the memorandum of understanding (I.O.W. the useless MOU) requiring both parties to refrain from the threats of force, but who has ever accused Trump of understanding the barest of diplomatic principles❓💢

For centuries, bedrock moral philosophy has rested on the principle that we should act only in ways we would want everyone else to act. Do we want other countries threatening our envoys, ignoring all diplomatic principles and forever escalating the threat of violence❓ If not, we should not do it ourselves.

It’s extraordinary that in our technological society, in which it becomes easier to destroy all of humanity with each passing day, we have even managed to make it to the year 2026. Great leaders of the past, by definition, have set a moral example we can all follow.

With Trump as our failed leader — and, in many respects, the de facto leader of the world — if everyone followed his example of violence, lies and escalation, I can’t imagine humanity would last another decade.

I believe that it’s time to remove Trump from office and roll the dice with (former Marine Corporal) JD Vance.

From Ben Kreider in Lancaster Township, Pennsylvania

Maine Writer P.S. Senator Susan Collins where are you❓

Americans must vote to remove maga cult insanity from government- Impeach Trump now and VOTE BLUE

Echo opinion letter published in Lancaster OnLine: 

Trump is a chronic liar and we must vote blue in November.

Liar, liar. 🤥❗After watching Donald Trump's recent Sunday disaster interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, I believe that millions of people saw just what an unhinged liar Trump is, and always has been❗

I’m sure that Trump's MAGA cult supporters will not care how much Trump is lacking in morals and values. Most likely, they will say that I have Trump Derangement Syndrome when the real truth is that members of MAGA have Democratic Derangement Syndrome.

Nevertheless, I am an independent voter who can clearly see a demented lying fool❗ 🤡In my view, Trump is not fit for any office. He falls asleep at meetings and events, and he lies, 🤥cheats and has no respect for anyone but himself. He has alienated our allies and made the United States a laughingstock. He has broken many laws and couldn’t care less about our Constitution. He frees convicted criminals who are his allies, and he wants to reward those people with our tax dollars. He has no respect for the law.

November's midterm elections are coming, and we will get a chance to change this daily chaos. The Democrats have their flaws. However, they are not insane and can make things better than they are now, without all the craziness and chaos❗ Trump and his MAGA cult criticized President Joe Biden’s economy daily, and they have now created one that’s much worse. They seemingly have no problem making the rich richer and the poor poorer. This needs to change. Please vote blue in November, or I believe you may wind up being ruled by a completely autocratic government!

From Denny Borrell in Lebanon, Pennsylvania

#ImpeachTrumpNOW

MAGA Republicans must put an end to the Trump and Hegseth lies about the Iranian Trumpian World War!

Republicans, wake up❗ ⏰ Senator Susan Collins❗

Echo opinion letter published in LandasterOnLine

How much longer can you keep accepting the lies 🤥from Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth❓

Why Iran❓ Why now❓ First it was Iran’s nuclear facilities, but wait, we obliterated them a year ago.

Then it was to change regimes. The defenseless Iranian people were presumably to rise up and overtake the well-armed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. How moronic is that❓

Finally, Trump and Hegseth said we had to destroy Iran’s missile factories, but wait, we obliterated those factories weeks ago.

What was the June 2025, attack on Iran about, anyway❓

So, why❓

Could it be that Iran was at its weakest❓

Or that Israel persuaded Trump to help out❓

Or, worse yet, was it a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein files❓

So far, tens of 💲billions have been spent on an unnecessary war and, in my view, we are in no way any better.

Aside from the expenditures of war, Republicans are proposing to spend 💲1 billion of taxpayer money for Trump’s gaudy golden White House ballroom.

While the country is at war, Trump is running around showing a picture of his ugly ballroom. Trump appears to be an inhumane person. In my view, he shows no signs of humanity, compassion or decency.

While Trump and his family are reportedly making billions off the presidency, many U.S. citizens are having trouble with gas prices, putting food on the table and paying for healthcare for their families.


George Washington wrote in a 1778, letter: “No punishment, in my opinion, is too great for the Man, who can build ‘his greatness upon his Country’s ruin.’ ”

I believe that Donald Trump should be removed from office for not upholding or defending the Constitution.

From Donald Doolittle Sr. in  West Lampeter Township, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump gave a State of Delusion speech to Congress. Nothing was said to help Americans pay for health care!

Opinion letter published in Lancaster OnLine, in Pennsylvania:

The Media’s Failure to Correct the Republicans’ Obscene Trumpcare Lies. Trump seems to be focusing on everything but a health care plan.

For years, Donald Trump talked🤥 🙄about his fantastic health care plan. We are still waiting for that plan, but health care is not as important to him as it is to millions of Americans who face rising costs and loss of coverage. 💢

Trump appears to have too many personal items to address before he can focus on American health care. (Like his name redacted thousands of times in the Epstein Files❗)

It seems the American people will have to wait and suffer until Trump finishes his ballroom, his arch and the renovations to what he wants us to call the Trump Kennedy Center.

In addition, Trump needs funding for detention centers to house immigrants and, conceivably, American citizens who don’t meet his idea of being worthy citizens.

Let’s not forget all the tax money- more than was allocated to the United States Marine Corps❗ - needed to pay for U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (evil ICE❗) agents and federal troops who are sent to U.S. cities.

Let’s also remember that Trump seems obsessed about getting his name onto Washington Dulles International Airport, New York City’s Penn Station, naval battleships and a new NFL football stadium.

Everyone has their priorities. But, Donald Trump should put the welfare of the American people first before his own personal interests and his self-gratification.

Who would have thought that a convicted felon and man who has been found liable in civil court for sexual abuse could be such a narcissist❓

From Douglas Groover in Manor Township, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump embarrassing America by threatening NATO he is crazy must be removed- Senator Collins where are you?

An echo opinion letter was published  in Lancaster Online:

😱😯😰

The awful (stupid-childish) text message from Donald Trump to the prime minister of Norway  can be described in one word: ❗ CRAZY😖😠

In more words, I believe that it is lunacy for a sitting U.S. president to threaten our NATO allies in yet another late-night temper tantrum from a toddler in chief because he didn’t get his participation trophy.

Does Trump have nothing better to do❓ Who in their right mind would look at that tirade and believe that this is the very picture of stability and mental fitness❓

Nothing about it makes sense to me, from Trump’s (fake❗) claim to “having stopped 8 Wars PLUS” to his assertion that the world would be secure only with Greenland in U.S. control.

The results have included the killing of the unarmed American citizen, Renee Good, in Minneapolis.

Is that how we make America great again❓ By waging war against the very foundations this country was built on❓ OMG❗ Come on now❗

This is not normal. It is weird and profoundly deplorable.

From Edgar Pantojas,  in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump and maga Republicans must remove Donald Trump for incapacity - Impeach or declare him incompetent or both!

Echo letter to the Congressman Lloyd Smucker: Lloyd Kenneth Smucker (R- Pennsylvania) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district, which includes Lancaster County, published in LancasterOnLine. 

It’s time for you to show real courage, to Lloyd Kenneth Smucker

You undoubtedly read or heard about Donald Trump’s (evil❗) social media rant about Rob Reiner just hours after the beloved actor/director/producer and his wife were murdered.😥

Donald Trump is driving farmers and small businesses out of business because of his stupidity, myopic and short-sighted decisions, including tariff policies that border on insanity.

You know all of this and more. If you have any courage at all, you will rally your colleagues in the U.S. House and start the march to impeachment before Trump drives this country into the ground and into collective depression. Americans are frightened and unsure what to do about it. They love their country but are increasingly fearful their country does not love them back.

Many Democrats and independents see no reason to give you another term if you will not act. 

Do not be surprised if some of your current supporters decide to come to the same conclusion.

It is up to you, sir.  From Ron Rogers  in East Hempfield Township

Pennsylvania

Republicans in Congress and the United States Supreme Court must remove Donald Trump from office because of his fascist authoritarianism

Congress must do its job and remove Trump as president

Echo opinion letter published in the Lancaster Pennsylvania LNP/LancasterOnline. 

Dear Editor:  I believe that Donald Trump is unfit to lead. He must be impeached again, convicted by the U.S. Senate, removed as president and imprisoned.

Trump’s Cabinet members, the conservative members of the U.S. Supreme Court and many Republican members of Congress should also be removed from office through constitutional means. In my view, many of them have committed crimes against our Constitution and federal laws, leading to the erosion of our democracy.

Trump and his family used their powers to ruin our economy while increasing their personal wealth. 

Reports also have indicated that some conservative members of the Supreme Court received valuable gifts that were not disclosed to the IRS or taxed. Moreover, the high court’s majority has ruled favorably on some of Trump’s demands without sufficient legal explanation.

Trump has essentially bribed or threatened foreign governments. He pardoned or commuted the sentences of those involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which I viewed as an insurrection. He is providing more tax cuts for the rich while eliminating affordable health care for many people. He wastes millions of taxpayer dollars on his golf outings while trying to fire thousands of government workers whose skills are needed to provide valuable services for American citizens.

As I see it, Trump is a dictator and only cares about himself, and not the will of the people. How was it possible that a man who is a convicted felon, has been found liable in civil court for sexual abuse and has been impeached twice was elected for a second term as president❓

What will it take for people to wake up ⏰ ❗and admit that they never should have voted for Trump as the leader of our nation❓ If you do not believe me, please listen to all the facts that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders presented for truth about Trump’s corruption.

From Charles Roehm (21-year Army veteran) in Penn Township, Pennsylvania

Women Against Trump and Free Speech Matters! Vote Democrat

Echo opinion letter published in LancasterOnLIne (LNP)
Dear Editor:

OK, I’m going to keep it simple. I don’t like Donald Trump! I didn’t like him as a New York playboy and I don’t like him as president. I don’t like that he thinks he should get “retribution” against anyone who hasn’t agreed with him. I don’t like his efforts to silence free speech.

I don’t like masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (aka "ICE"👿)  agents grabbing people off the streets. I don’t like that Trump put a person with seemingly no scientific or medical knowledge in charge of our U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I don’t like denying anyone (even if they are a lazy bum) health care. I don’t like denying anyone in this country food.

And I don’t like that I am actually scared to submit this letter.

From Carol Westfall in Christiana borough in Pennsylvania

#FreeSpeechMatters  #VoteDemocrat #VoteBlue

Finally women will have important access to over the counter birth control pills

An echo report published in Lancaster Online by Matthew Perrone.

Maine Writer introduction: A little history from my nursing experience, recalling the first time I ever saw a woman who was taking birth control pills, at that time, the dose of estrogen in the prescription had not been adjusted to the safer level we have in today's pills.  

This particular lady of child bearing age, but I would say she was probably about 30 years old, was admitted to the hospital where I was a student nurse with leg thrombophletitis - now a known side effect of high dose estrogen contraceptive pills.  These pills are no longer prescribed.  But, the patient showed a group of us student nurses what the round package looked like and we were all eyes and ears to learn about this new medical breakthrough in reproductive health care.  Later, when I worked in a Baltimore City public clinic, I recall how it was difficult to educate indigent women about how swallowing a pill in your mouth could prevent pregnancy.  There was no evidence available to convince them about how this medical prescription could prevent pregnancy.  So, I am very glad to learn about the impending access to over the counter birth control pills, although I suspect there will be too many women will be skeptical about using it. I hope a public awareness campaign can help to support the safe use of the pills.

First over-the-counter birth control pill gets FDA approval

U.S. officials have approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, a major change that will broaden access for women and teenagers

By MATTHEW PERRONE - AP Health Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators approved the nation's first over-the-counter birth control pill in a landmark decision that will soon allow American women and girls to obtain contraceptive medication as easily as they buy aspirin and eyedrops.

A common birth control dispenser with one month supply

The Food and Drug Administration cleared once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first such medication to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter. The manufacturer, Ireland-based Perrigo, won’t start shipping the pill until early next year, and there will be no age restrictions on sales.

Hormone-based pills have long been the most common form of birth control in the U.S., used by tens of millions of women since the 1960s. Until now, all of them required a prescription.

Medical societies and women’s health groups have pushed for wider access for decades, noting that an estimated 45% of the 6 million annual pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended. 

Teens and girls, women of color and those with low incomes report greater hurdles in getting prescriptions and picking them up.

The challenges can include paying for a doctor's visit, getting time off from work and finding child care.

“This is really a transformation in access to contraceptive care,” said Kelly Blanchard, president of Ibis Reproductive Health, a nonprofit group that supported the approval. “Hopefully this will help people overcome those barriers that exist now.”

Perrigo says Opill could be an important new option for the estimated 15 million U.S. women who currently use no birth control or less effective methods, such as condoms. They are a fifth of women who are child-bearing age.

But how many women will actually gain access depends on the medication's price, which Perrigo plans to announce later this year.

“The reason why so many of us worked tirelessly for years to get over-the-counter birth control pills is to improve access ... cost shouldn’t be one of those barriers,” said Dr. Pratima Gupta of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Most older birth control pills cost $15 to $30 for a month's supply without insurance coverage.

Over-the-counter medicines are generally much cheaper than prescriptions, but they typically aren’t covered by insurance.

Forcing insurers to cover over-the-counter birth control would require a regulatory change by the federal government, which women's advocates are urging the Biden administration to implement.

The FDA approval gives U.S. women another birth control option amid the legal and political battles over reproductive health, including last year's reversal of Roe v. Wade, which has upended abortion access across the U.S.

That said, Opill's approval is unrelated to the ongoing court battles over the abortion pill mifepristone. And anti-abortion groups have generally emphasized that they do not oppose contraceptives, which are used to prevent pregnancies, not end them.

However, that has done little to ease fears that contraception could someday become a target. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a separate opinion in which he explicitly called on his colleagues to put the high court's same-sex marriage, gay sex and contraception cases on the table❗😟

In the last year, the FDA has faced pressure from Democratic politicians, health advocates and medical professionals to improve access to birth control. The American Medical Association and other leading medical groups backed Opill’s application for over-the-counter status.

Birth control pills are available without a prescription across much of South America, Asia and Africa.

Perrigo submitted years of research to the FDA to show that women could understand and follow instructions for using the pill. Thursday’s approval came despite some concerns by FDA scientists about the company’s results, including whether women with certain underlying medical conditions would understand that they shouldn’t take the drug.

The FDA’s action only applies to Opill. It’s in an older class of contraceptives, sometimes called mini-pills, that contain a single synthetic hormone and generally carry fewer side effects than more popular combination hormone pills.

Women’s health advocates hope the decision paves the way for more over-the-counter birth control options and, eventually, for abortion pills to do the same.

An outside panel of FDA advisers unanimously voted in favor of the switch at a hearing in May where dozens of public speakers called for Opill’s approval.

Dyvia Huitron was among those who presented, explaining how she has been unable to get prescription birth control more than three years after becoming sexually active. The 19-year-old University of Alabama student said she still isn’t comfortable getting a prescription because the school’s health system reports medical exams and medications to parents.

“My parents did not let me go on the pill,” Huitron said in a recent interview. “There was just a lot of cultural stigma around being sexually active before you’re married.”

While she uses other forms of contraception, “I would have much preferred to have birth control and use these additional methods to ensure that I was being as safe as possible.”

Advocates were particularly interested in Opill because it raised fewer safety concerns. The pill was first approved in the U.S. five decades ago.

“It’s been around a long time, and we have a large amount of data supporting that this pill is safe and effective for over-the-counter use,” Blanchard said.

Newer birth control pills typically combine two hormones, estrogen and progestin, which can help make periods lighter and more regular. But their use carries a heightened risk of blood clots, and they shouldn’t be used by women at risk for heart problems, such as those who smoke and are over 35.

Opill has only progestin, which prevents pregnancy by blocking sperm from reaching the cervix. It must be taken around the same time daily to be most effective.

In its internal review published in May, the FDA noted that some women in Perrigo’s study had trouble understanding the drug’s labeling information. In particular, the instructions warn that women with a history of breast cancer should not take the pill because it could spur tumor growth.

Common side effects include irregular vaginal bleeding, headaches, dizziness and cramps, according to the FDA. The label also cautions that certain drugs can interfere with Opill’s effectiveness, including medications for seizures, HIV and hypertension.

Perrigo executives said the company will spend the rest of the year manufacturing the pill so it can be available in stores early next year.

Follow Matthew Perrone on Twitter: @AP_FDAwriter

Republican insurrectionists that protect stolen 2020 fake election news must be punished

Echo opinion published in LancasterOnline.com in Pennsylvania:

The false Republican claim of a stolen 2020, election is getting stale, but I believe that Democrats must keep insisting that everyone who participated in the January 6, 2021, insurrection — including its planning and obfuscation attempts afterward — be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I believe that former President Donald Trump needs to be on Mars or in jail, not in the White House.

What kind of country am I now living in where the likes of Roger Stone, Rudy Giuliani, (traitor!) Michael Flynn and others who I view as traitors to democracy are walking around free?  (Maine Writer - Moreover, Michael Flynn collects a military retirement check!)

And now Brazil’s Trumpian former president, Jair Bolsonaro — after pulling the same stupid stuff there — is also walking around free. 

In Florida, near his buddy. 

It’s starting to look a lot like elitism and privilege and massive doses of money. As always.

Ben Thompson Jr. Lebanon, Pennsylvania