Donald Trump and maga Republicans are using vile language and vindictive cruely to destroy American democracy

Echo Letter to the Editor published in the Door County Pulse in Wisconsin: Our Democracy is Being Destroyed

I believe that every day our democracy is being destroyed by Donald Trump with what I believe are his divisive and unconstitutional executive orders and policies. Unfortunately, there is almost complete silence from our elected congressional Republicans.

Congressional Republicans have left Congress for what’s now been a two-week “vacation” with the government shutdown. Are they afraid to sit down and work on a compromise to save health care for millions of Americans❓ Are they so intimidated by Donald Trump that they won’t object to or question the legality of ICE raids❓

Doesn’t it upset them to see young children handcuffed with zip ties and herded into vans❓

Do Republican legislators really think we should declare war on foreign cartels❓Do they believe our state National Guard troops should be sent to “Democratic” cities when the mayors, governors, and local law enforcement officials have not asked for them❓

The insulting, vile language and the vindictive and cruel policies coming out of the White House don’t look or sound like the America I know. I know Americans are better than this❗

It’s hard to know what to do to stop what’s happening to our country. But, I do know many Americans want a respectful President who respects truth, the rule of law, and our Constitution. We have the chance to make a difference and to speak out with a huge robust but peaceful outpouring of Americans at the next NO 👑KINGS Marches on this October 18, 2026. NO 👑KINGS marches will be happening all over Wisconsin and America. If you’re upset with what’s happening to our country, find a march near you and join us!

From Glenna Peters, in Sister Bay, Wisconsin

No Kings peaceful demonstrations caught the attention of main stream media because of the joy, humor and comaraderie

Humor, patriotism of ‘No Kings’ protests are cause for celebration | Baltimore Sun editorial echo

No Kings rally against Donald Trump in Baltimore’s Patterson Park on a Saturday in June. File photo Baltimore Sun newspaper

We’re guessing that more than a few Baltimoreans were secretly dreading Saturday’s double-billed day of a “No Kings” protest happening simultaneously with the 25th annual Baltimore Running Festival. Would it produce chaos, anger, riots in the streets (a proverbial marathon of antagonism)❓ And those concerns surely extended to thousands of locations across the country from New York to Los Angeles that, while perhaps not hosting 26-mile runs, might well be concerned about protests becoming violent.

The result❓ “No Kings” with its millions of participants, possibly the largest protest ever staged against a sitting U.S. president, turned out to be peaceful, humor-tinged (and more about that in a moment) and patriotic. Organizers deserve kudos here. At a time when emotions are running high, participants seem to take their cues from the upcoming Halloween celebration dressing up not only as Donald Trump, but often as cartoon characters in order to dance in the street. The humorous vibe was a more-than-welcome breath of fresh air.

As Exhibit A, we would simply point to social studies teacher Andy Vernor who dressed as a dime-store Uncle Sam to oppose the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard in cities. “JUST SAY NO 2 MARTIAL LAW!” Vernor’s sign suggested. But how much more effective was that message coming from a man wearing a floppy top hat and a sparkly red, white and blue vest as he carried it around Patterson Park❓ A favorite cheer for runners navigating city streets❓ “Run like Trump’s behind you.”😊😂

That tone proved remarkably consistent across the country. Over and over, the atmosphere was more like that of a concert or street festival than an angry mob. Yes, the point was to underscore the president’s alarming authoritarian tendencies but this was no call for violence. It was more like some kind of mutual support society — Americans gathered, in part, simply to reassure each other that, no, it’s not normal for a president to dispatch National Guard troops into cities not in the middle of a crisis or to use his post for personal financial gain or to seek criminal indictment of his critics and on and on. 

One may disagree with those perspectives or continue to stand by the president, but we should recognize that this was the First Amendment as it was meant to be exercised — and be grateful that in this country frustrated citizens can gather peacibly and make their voices heard.

Indeed, the most jarring part of the whole weekend may have been the reaction of leading Republicans in Washington, particularly House Speaker Mike Johnson who — even on Sunday when the event was over and the patriotism and positivity was widely acknowledged — went on ABC’s “This Week” to describe “No Kings” as a sign of the “rise of Marxism” in the Democratic Party and an effort to distract from the government shutdown. 

Did they see what everyone else saw in their local rallies or in televised coverage of these events❓Obviously not.😕

Granted, the demonstrations didn’t solve much. Just as the first “No Kings” protests staged in mid-June did little to deter Donald Trump or his closest supporters. But then, that’s not how non-violent protest works. What it did accomplish was to alert the nation to the broad level of concern over the potential loss of democratic norms. Not in an alarmist manner. Not in a way that invites violence. But in a way that may well cause others to join their cause, to raise their voices and perhaps even raise their torch, especially if you came to the march dressed as the 🗽Statue of Liberty.

Did Trump notice❓ It’s telling that prior to the event he predicted a low turnout. His allies called them “Hate America” rallies. With crowds collectively estimated at 7 million or more and patriotism and good will in such abundance, he changed his tune, first telling a reporter “Who cares?” when asked about the rallies and later posting online a video of himself wearing a crown. In Trump’s world, such a sharp turn suggests he got the message.

Such is the power of peaceful protest.

Donald Trump and maga Republicans must bring Americans together. Donald Trump pretends to be a peacmaker but he is at war with the American people!

Dear Editor:  Echo opinion letter published in the News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida 😕😓😡 Feeling safer❓ 

Everyone wants to live in a safe country but are we heading in that direction? Florida passed open carry meaning beware of honking at a car with lights off at dark, forgetting to close gas covers or illegal drivers, because anything at all may get you shot❗

We have Donald Trump who as presidents said, "I hate Democrats." Ever hear of a president for "all Americans" use such hateful rhetoric❓ We see hate by killing the Hortmans and school children in Minnesota, a Mormom church in Michigan.

Immigration should not be remedied by temporary ICE agents bullying by men in masks pushing citizens because "they can" or showing the president old pictures of riots in Portland and Chicago to bring in the National Guard who leave their jobs, families and kids' fall sports to clean up parks! Trying to rule by fear, fake strength, and not following the Constitution only increases the chances for being less safe.

From Glenn Mueller, in Naples, Florida

Support Democratic political courage to defend against Trumpzi authoritarianism! Vote Democrat~ Vote Blue!

Ezra Klein in The New York Times: I often heard people complain that Democrats lacked a message. What Democrats really lacked was power. They didn’t have the House or the Senate, but they did have one sliver of leverage: To fund the government, Senate Republicans needed Democratic votes. And not just one or two. They needed at least seven Democrats to reach that magic 60-vote threshold. House Democrats wanted a shutdown. 

But, nevertheless, Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Senate Democrats, didn’t. He voted for the funding bill and encouraged a crucial number of his colleagues to do the same. 

Obviously, the bill passed.😖

To many Democrats, this seemed insane. Some began openly calling for Schumer to resign or face a primary challenge. This was Democrats’ first real opportunity to fight back against Trump, and they had folded. What were they good for❓

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/opinion/democrats-congress-trump.html

Echo opinion letter published in The New York Times: 

Kudos to Mr. Klein for his thoughtful and prescient article, coupling a succinct summary of today’s political realities with a credible path forward for enlightened House and Senate Democrats.

The congressional leadership ought to step up to the plate by using the potential U.S. government shutdown as an opportunity to register a set of demands that must be met in exchange for Democratic support for continued funding of the government.

The demands should focus on stanching erosion of the rule of law, such as by enacting legislation that would prohibit future deployment of National Guard troops in U.S. cities.

Whether or not such efforts prove successful, they would at least establish a sound platform on which Democrats in Congress could run in next year’s elections. In my view, as it now stands, they have few recent accomplishments or politically attractive proposals on which to run.

From Russell E. Pommer in Naples, Florida

To the Editor: I agree with Ezra Klein that we must “stop acting like this is normal,” as the online headline of his column puts it. Any government shutdown should aim at restoring trust in government. Distrust is currently bipartisan.

New legislation worthy of a showdown might be labeled Honor in Government. It should include these components:

1. Those governing should not profit from their legislative or executive actions. Public financial records or blind trusts should be required.

2. A legislator should not be for sale. If a legislator receives funding above a certain threshold from a company or industry, she must recuse herself from votes supporting that company or industry.

3. Independent watchdogs and agency heads must be independent. Firing them should require a two-thirds legislative vote.

4. The government must honor previous commitments. This includes funding, treaties, immigration promises such as parole and Temporary Protected Status, and promises made to allies. Afghans or others who fought alongside our military should be protected.

5. Exercise of the right to free speech, including peaceful protest, may not be used to revoke federal funding or visas.

From Rachel Wheeler in Concord, Massachusetts

In other words, vote Democrat, Vote Blue ❕

Donald Trump and maga Republicans want to support a terrible name change for Department of Defense

In the responses to the assassination of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025,  in Orem, Utah, the preponderance of messages calls for bringing down the heaated political rhetoric in American's political discourse.  This bipartisan call gives us even more reasons for Republicans to stand up for something....anything❗...and oppose changing the name of the Department of Defense, to include the word "war", as proposed by Donald Trump. Makes no sense to wail about the intensity of brutal political attacks occuring too frequently in America, while putting he word "war" into our national Department of Defense. 💜😥

Echo opinion letter published in The Chronicle, a Washington State newspaper:  In an act that is bizarre even by the standards of this incompetent presidency, Donald Trump has announced that he intends to rename the Department of Defense, which was created in its current form by President Harry Truman, 78 years ago.

The new moniker would be that which until 1947, applied to the Department of the Army alone, the Department of War.

Truman's decision, of course, was issued in the immediate aftermath of World War II. America and its allies had emerged triumphant in this most destructive of armed conflicts, and were determined that no such horror would happen again.

A part of this determination was simply to alter the nomenclature. War was awful and unmentionable. Defense was acceptable.

It appears that every other nation on the planet has adopted this usage. France dropped its Ministry of War in 1947, and Britain relabeled its War Office in 1964. A quick Google search of over 100 nations reveals that while all have a defense ministry, none use the word "war" in the title.

Were Trump's plans to be realized, this country would be even more of a pariah than it has been since the Donald took office. The symbolic damage to our international image would be devastating.

It is significant that our president faked an affliction of bone spurs to dodge the military draft in his youth, and that he hasdodge the military draft in his youth, and that he has spent his entire adult life publicly bragging about his supposed prowess with women. This Department of War nonsense, "a message of strength," suggesting "maximum lethality," in Trump's words, is just another manifestation of his inadequacy and narcissism.

One wonders, furthermore, whether other government offices might be retitled. As reformulated in the Trump era, should the Department of State be the Department of Hate? How about the Department of Health as the Department of Disease? And why not the Department of Justice as the Department of Just ICE❓😟

Trump's deployments of National Guard and U.S. Marine units in various cities are all about trying to steal next year's congressional elections. If his health permits, he will try to steal a third term in 2028, and to hell with the Constitution.

From Joseph Tipler in Centralia

Donald Trump and maga Republicans are enabling an illegal federal takeover calling for "war" on American citizens

Meanwhile, endless wars in Isreal, Gaza and Ukraine wage on when Donald Trump falsely claimed he could end them all "on day one".  So, here we are on September 8th, at day 231 into the Trump autoracy and our nation is at war with Donald Trump.  His public opinion polls are tanking but his cruelty continues.

Armed troops at the Washington Monument❓ This is not normal❗

Wake up America❗⏰Your front yard has been militarized. Yet residents and visitors there hardly pay the troops any mind.

Not what Washington is supposed to look like.

(Kent Nishimura / Getty Images)

Echo opinion published in the Los Angeles Times by Jackie Calmes*

It’s the (not-normal) normalization of excessive federal force under Donald Trump, just seven months into his autocratic reign.

America’s Front Yard is what the National Park Service calls the National Mall, the grassy expanse that knits together the neighborhood that’s home to the U.S. Capitol and the iconic monuments to Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt; veterans of World War II, Vietnam and Korea; and Martin Luther King Jr.

For decades I jogged here (one morning literally running into Jimmy Carter, long gone from the White House). I introduced friends and family to the Mall’s delights and the museums that open onto it. 

I attended festivals, concerts and Fourth of July fireworks displays. On a gorgeous, sunny Labor Day this year, I returned. And for the first time, I saw armed, camo-clad soldiers among the tourists.

As I left the World War II memorial, five soldiers emerged nearby, marching in single-line formation to join about two dozen more beside three vans under trees near the Reflecting Pool. At the pool’s opposite end, nearer the Lincoln Memorial, another dozen soldiers milled. Tourists mostly ignored the shows of force, except for the two park policemen on horseback along separate sides of the Reflecting Pool. Tourists wanted photos with them.

As I approached the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, five more soldiers circled a statue dedicated to women who served in Vietnam. The men studied the sculpted figures and read the inscriptions — just like tourists.

“They’re bored,” a park ranger told me. “They’d rather be home with their families.”

I and most Washingtonians (8 out of 10, according to a mid-August poll for the Washington Post) also would rather have them home with their families, wherever home is. Six states headed by Republican governors, ever-eager to please Trump, have sent hundreds of National Guard troops to supplement those from blue Washington, who, unlike in the states where governors hold sway, are under the president’s direct command.

Heading to a restroom on my way to the Tidal Basin and Jefferson Memorial, I passed three hulking black SUVs. Despite their darkened windows, I could vaguely make out men inside. Only the vehicles’ license plates identified them: “DHS,” Department of Homeland Security, the tip of Trump’s antimigrant spear. Perhaps these secret agents were awaiting a dispatcher’s call to nab another Latino delivery driver or raid another restaurant’s kitchen to drive up the numbers for Trump’s immigration crackdown.

What you see out in the open — 2,200 uniformed soldiers and additional federal agents patrolling the nation’s capital — is bad enough. It’s what you don’t see, or can’t identify, that’s more disturbing in the land of the free. Like masked agents in unmarked cars stopping and searching residents without evident reason, as videos on social media regularly capture.

Either way, Trump’s takeover of the District of Columbia using National Guard troops and federal agents from the DHS, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and from the FBI and other agencies — together with his threats to Chicago, Baltimore and other cities — amount to “creating a national police force with the Trump as its chief,” as a federal judge proclaimed this week in ruling against troops acting as cops in Los Angeles.
“Why is the National Guard still around❓” an exasperated Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer (brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer) demanded last month during a trial in the L.A. case. “What is the threat today? What was the threat yesterday or two weeks ago that allowed it? I’m trying to see whether there are any limits, any limits to the use of a federal force.”

Those were my questions in Washington as well, during my Labor Day stroll and a drive through downtown and various higher-crime neighborhoods.

That same day, Trump boasted on social media that, three weeks into his policing of the nation’s capital, Washington is “NOW A CRIME FREE ZONE.” Yet he’s vowed to keep boots on the ground beyond a legal 30-day limit next week, which would require Congress’ assent.

The fact is that Washington, like any city, still has crime, though the rate was at a 30-year low before Trump’s executive order Aug. 11 citing a nonexistent “crime emergency,” and it’s fallen more since then, as Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has acknowledged. The issue isn’t whether there is crime that needs to be policed. It’s who does the policing. In America, that’s historically been the states and local jurisdictions — unless, as federal law requires, they prove incapable of doing so. Which they haven’t.

If more police is an answer to crime, as Bowser and most mayors of either party would agree, then Trump should quit cutting federal funding — Washington is short a full $1 billion in this fiscal year — and instead do what former President Clinton did amid high crime in the mid-1990s: increase money to states and cities to hire more local cops. That helped in Clinton’s time, if not so much as he liked to claim.

What’s worse is that Trump’s bid to take charge in U.S. cities extends mostly to states led by Democrats, despite high or higher crime in red state cities including Memphis, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louisville, Jackson and Birmingham. Sending red-state troops to police unfamiliar blue cities can only exacerbate polarization. So does a president who spurs on those troops and agents by denigrating U.S. cities as “unsafe and dirty and disgusting” (Washington), “hell holes” (Chicago and Baltimore) and “terrible” (L.A.).

This is not normal, not in America’s front yard or anywhere else in this nation. Nor will it ultimately be accepted, as Trump takeovers spread and protests expand with them. I fear this is just what the Great Divider wants: an (evil💀👿)excuse to dispatch even more troops- just because he can.

*Jackie Calmes is an opinion columnist for the Los Angeles Times in Washington, D.C.

Donald Trump and maga Republicans make false claims about "peacmaking" while Trump he creates chaos in America

Alaskana were buzzing (with mixed reactions) when Donald Trump announced he would meet (evil 👿 ) Russian President Vladimir Putin somewhere in the state on Friday August 15, 2025. 

While expressing cautious optimism that they might reach an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, (turned out to be a failed effort👎), Sen. Dan Sullivan falsely pointed to fake efforts about how Trump has created “peace in so many other areas of the world.”❓😕😲

But, in here in America, Trump has condoned violence by his supporters while promoting intense hatred of his political opponents and immigrants who are in the country illegally.

During the interview on Alaska’s News Source, wrong minded Sullivan mentioned the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He correctly noted that war has been going on for decades.

In typical narcissistic fashion, Trump wanted all the credit for ending it. But he lied.🤢

“Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to ‘TRUMP,” he posted on social media.🤥

But as a former Commander of U.S. Army Europe, Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) knows the history of that war and the efforts to end it. “Conflicts end because of patience, persistence, and luck — not one man’s showmanship,” he wrote on the Bulwark.

With the war in Ukraine, Trump has been all showman since before last year’s election. He repeatedly claimed Russia wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine in 2022, if he was president then. And promised to end the war his first day in office. Trump failed.

A month after returning to the White House, he blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war. 

Now he’s prepared to accuse Zelensky of not wanting peace because he rejected the land swaps that Trump expects to part of any agreement.

Sullivan understands any land swap would be like rewarding a violent criminal. Two years ago, he insisted it’s in America’s “interest to continue to support the Ukrainians to restore their territorial integrity.”

Here at home, Trump concocted a new definition of the Russian invasion to justify the “largest domestic deportation operation in America history.” 

In a flagrant lie, he accused the prior administration of letting in “647,572 migrant criminals … to rape, pillage, plunder and kill” Americans.

But, tragically horrible, most of the illegal immigrants who have been detained by ICE had no criminal record. 

When that triggered protests in Los Angeles, Trump grossly exaggerated the violence that occurred to justify sending in the National Guard and U.S. Marines.

This week, he ordered the National Guard to take control of law enforcement in Washington, D.C. Reading from a prepared statement, he claimed it’s “been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs and homeless people.”

Nevermind that the crime rate is at a 30-year low. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned several hundred of his supporters who violently attacked Capitol Police officers while Congress was certifying the 2020, election (which he still can’t admit he lost).

Trump rewarded Jared Wise, a former FBI agent, with a pardon and a senior adviser job in the Department of Justice. During his trial in January, bodycam footage shown to the jury revealed he yelled “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!” after a police officer was knocked to the ground.

And while he hails the insurrectionists as “unbelievable patriots,” he’s referred to anyone not aligned with his divisive agenda as “communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs” who “lie and steal and cheat on elections.”

Four decades ago, President Ronald Reagan took the opposite approach to matters of peace at home and abroad.

Recognizing that millions of illegal immigrants were “productive members of our society and are a basic part of our work force,” he worked with members of both parties to pass landmark immigration reform.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a reminder of the Cold War conflict Reagan faced during his presidency. Unlike Trump, he countered Soviet aggression by strengthening our alliances. And led with the philosophy that “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means.”

Domestic tranquility relies on that same profound truth. But as former Secretary of Defense James Mattis said, Trump doesn’t “even pretend” he’s trying to unite Americans. He deliberately seeks to divide us.

That’s why Sullivan’s praise of Trump as a peacemaker rings hollow. And as long as he’s president, America will never be great.

• Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. 

Donald Trump and the Republicans owe the truth to Americans instead Trump invents one crises after another

Echo opinion letter published in The News-Gazette an Illinois newspaper: "distractions and distortions" and now we can add the unprovoked attack in Iran to this dangerously growing category. 

Question❓  Are Americans any safer today because of what Donald Trump and the Republicans are doing to destroy our democracy❓

Answer- Of course not. Americans are all less safe, regardless of where we are in the world, even while living in our own nation as legal citizens.

Trump's misuse of troops is just a ploy: What Donald Trump is busy creating in Los Angeles was so predictable. In fact, Kamila Harris predicted it during her 2024 campaign. 

Trump is aving a terrible time. A former ally (Elon Musk) attacked him and his policies, a loud clamor for the release of the Epstein files was heard, a bad series of economic reports was not released, Republican senators balked at his “big, beautiful bill,” and the Ukrainians kept fighting on.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump played the proverbial big guy card by calling on the U.S military to launch a devastating bombing on the soverign nation of Iran, without provocation to cause this aggressive attack. 

Faced with all these negative events, the Trump playbook calls for one approach — go on the offensive with distraction and distortion. In spite of the fact that the Los Angeles police thanked protesters for practicing their First Amendment rights in an overall orderly and peaceful manner, and Governor Gavin Newsom saw no pressing need to take additional steps, Trump decided to send in the National Guar

What better way to distract people from all the negative stories Trump doesn’t want the voters to focus on. It’s too bad he didn’t make the unilateral decision to send in the National Guard on January 6, when a truly violent protest took place at our nation's Capitol.

From Scott Davis in Champaign Illinois

Donald Trump is failing the U.S. Military: Using them for his own selfish political purposes

Donald Trump is wasting tax monty with his wrongminded mis-use of the military- National Guard and Marines.

Trump getting booed in lego: A Tump pin featuring Donald Trump getting booed by the crowd in Lego format

Echo opinion letter published in the Philadelphia Inquirer,

It is hard to reconcile Donald Trump’s recent actions and words concerning our military. At the 250th anniversary army parade, he  gave the false impression that the armed forces support him personally, and, therefore, he is using them in ways that threaten our domestic freedoms.

Recently, Donald Trump spoke before troops at Fort Benning in Georgia, some on stage reportedly preselected for Trump loyalty and their appearance. Launching into rally-style attacks on California's brave Governor Gavin Newsom and defending the activation of the National Guard and Marines, these soldiers of our United States Army laughed, jeered, and booed as Trump surely anticipated. Some will casually take that scene as evidence that the army is behind him, and the hideous imagry cannot be unseen.

Similarly, combat-equipped U.S. Marines and California National Guard in the streets of Los Angeles, day after day, for no reason, reinforces the message that this is somehow normal, acceptable, and inevitable. As a veteran, I will always be proud of the Army and my service. I am sad and embarrassed that the Army, through a complicit secretary of defense, is allowing itself to be used by Trump as a prop to advance the most sinister threat to our democracy since the Civil War.

From Joseph B. Baker, West Chester, Pennsylvania

Donald Trump abuses the US military because the Marines are young men who are not trained to arrest civilians

....and the American people do not approve of how Donald Trump uses the military and the National Guard to be his private Nazi style SS troops. 

Donald Trump’s response to the Los Angeles protests demonstrates his weakness, not his strength. Echo opinion published in The New York Times by James Bouie

When I argued this point, there was some polling, but not a whole lot. Now, at the end of the week, we have a lot more data, and — (White House '3-D Printer Barbie- Karoline Leavitt) spin notwithstanding — the politics of this action looks terrible for the Donald Trump.  (In fact, regardless of the ambiguous decisions made by the confused court systems, the American people can see Donald Trump's incompetence for what it is. Sheer cruelty created in a failed attempt to look like a strong dictator.) 

Writing for his Strength in Numbers newsletter, G. Elliott Morris put together a useful chart of this week’s polling as it relates to the L.A. protests, Trump and immigration. When asked if they approved of the way the president is handling immigration, majorities of Americans in polls from The Associated Press, Quinnipiac University and The Washington Post said no. Trump received a positive rating of 49 percent approval in a survey conducted by YouGov for The Economist. His average net approval on immigration is around -7 points.

On the question of deportations, both YouGov and Quinnipiac find negative ratings for the president, for an average net approval of roughly -14 points. More Americans disapprove than approve of Trump’s decision to send troops to Los Angeles, for an average net approval of nearly -8 points, and a solid majority of Americans, 56 percent according to YouGov, say that state and local officials should take the lead on responding to protests in Los Angeles, as opposed to the 25 percent who say it should be a federal responsibility.

As for the protests themselves, more Americans disapprove than approve, for an average net approval rating of -5 points.

What these numbers tell me is that with a more measured approach, Trump might have been able to win this confrontation and bring Americans around to his position. As it stands, a draconian use of force against largely peaceful protesters — in service of a brutal campaign of deportations — has turned the public against him, even as it dislikes the protests themselves. And I expect that the manhandling and handcuffing of Senator Alex Padilla of California during a news conference held by Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security — a stunning abuse of power — will worsen the president’s position with most Americans.

Today, in cities and towns across the country, some number of Americans — maybe even you — will be protesting against the administration and in opposition to the White House’s monarchical pretensions. As I write this, there is no way to know the scale of these Los Angeles demonstrations. But something tells me that the events of this week have activated many Americans in a way that will prove detrimental to Donald Trump's authoritarian goals.
What I wrote (,,,in fact, on "No Kings" June 14  demonstrations, an estimated 20,000 people peacefully demonstrated in downtown Los Angeles.) I argued that deploying the military in reaction to a modest protest of federal agents’ actions was a fundamental demonstration of weakness and of the brittleness of Trump's attempt to grab authoritarian control.

Power, real power, rests on legitimacy and consent. A regime that has to deploy force at the first sign of dissent is a regime that does not actually believe it can wield power short of coercion and open threats of violence.

Donald Trump manufactured a crises while peaceful Los Angeles anti ICE demonstrations continue

Listen to the voices from the people who are observing the Los Angeles anti-ICE demonstrations.

Echo opinion letters published in the Los Angeles Times:

#LosAngelesSTRONG❗💪

Support for border enforcement doesn’t justify extreme or harmful policies. Many voters expected a more thoughtful, humane approach, not one that detains families or rushes deportations without considering individual circumstances. These methods don’t reflect the values of fairness and dignity most Americans still believe in.

People say that tough enforcement is about following the law, but without compassion, the law does more harm than intended. Enforcing immigration policies should involve smart case-by-case judgment and not punishment for everyone. A better approach would balance safety with empathy and recognize that real solutions come from true understanding, not fear.


From Patricia Geronimo, in Redondo Beach, California

Peaceful Anti-ICE protesters rally in downtown LA against Trump immigration crackdown

To the editor: It is important to remember that the same Donald Trump who sent the National Guard to Los Angeles because the administration “has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior and violence” is the same Donald Trump who incited the insurrection on January 6, 2021, declined to take steps to stop the attack on our Capitol or protect members of Congress and, as soon as he took office in 2025, granted sweeping pardons or commutations to everyone (more than 1,500 people) indicted or sentenced for the attack. Approximately 140 law enforcement officers were injured with more than $2.7 million in damage to the Capitol.

From Marcia Scully, Whittier California

..

Tim Walz support for his military career and his Congressional work on veterans issues

Support Governor Tim Walz:  Disparaging Tim Walz’s military service insults millions of fellow American patriots.

"After he was elected to Congress in 2006, Walz worked on veterans’ issues, and he eventually rose to be the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee in 2017." Reported in CNN.

Echo opinion published in the The Kansas City Star by Thomas Arnhold:

Like Tim Walz, I spent 24 years in the Army National Guard. During that time, I learned a lot about life that applies to our current election and will try to express my observations about two matters. 

There are lots of men and women like Walz in the National Guard and Reserves. We come from small towns and cities across the United States. We are teachers like Walz, and also law enforcement officers, lawyers, nurses, farmers and almost every other occupation one can think of.

We join for a variety of reasons. I did because I was a young attorney who started a law practice and needed some extra income. A good friend of mine talked me into joining. Others enlisted because they wanted to serve their country and community or because their father or mother had a positive military experience. Others joined because of the educational benefits, or they wanted to learn a skill. People also leave the service for a variety of reasons. 

Some finish their initial enlistment term and chose not to reenlist, while others stay 30 years or more. Soldiers often leave the service because their spouses do not like them gone or they have small children. Some leave to take advantage of opportunities elsewhere. Service members who choose to leave the military should be congratulated for serving, not disparaged because of why they left. Those who served sacrificed, at a minimum, weekends and annual training with their families. Many deployed for a year or more and lost jobs or income during that time. Why do we stay in the National Guard? 

Again, people stay in the National Guard for 20, 25, 30 or even 40 years for a variety of reasons. For some, it is the money and health insurance. For me and many others, it is because of our brother and sisters in arms. The Kansas National Guard was like an extended family to me.

Nor should anyone who served in the National Guard or Reserves be criticized for not deploying overseas. I recently saw a photo of a military dog, with the comment that the dog had deployed more times than Walz. That really torqued me. I had several friends who served more than 30 years in the Kansas National Guard and never deployed because of a variety of reasons. Some served during a period of time when deployments were rare and they never had a chance to deploy. Some held a military specialty that was not needed in the deployment. Some held civilian or military jobs at home that were critical. Some had medical conditions that kept them from deploying, or they had family issues. 

Another thing I learned is that members of the National Guard are usually courteous, down-to-earth, motivated and great problem-solvers. We know how to get the job done. We have skills that members of the active armed forces do not. For example, teams from the National Guard regularly win the U.S. Army marksmanship trophy. The National Guard is much better at taking care of service members and their families, because they are our neighbors and friends. I do not know if Kamala Harris and Walz will get elected, but I am convinced Walz is capable of being vice president of the United States and could step in to serve as president, if need be. 

My confidence is, in large part, based upon his service in the National Guard. Hooah, Tim Walz.

In 2003, I deployed to Bosnia with the Kansas Army National Guard as a member of the 35th Infantry Division. We were a peacekeeping force. After the former Yugoslavia broke up, war and the three ethnic groups who had existed peacefully before engaged in a brutal war. Nearly 11,000 Bosnian men and boys who were Muslim were slaughtered at Srebrenica by Slobodan Milošević and his Serbian army. In Bosnia, neighbors who had lived in peace for years suddenly turned on one another because of ethnic and political differences. When I left Bosnia, many of the schools had classes in the morning for one ethnic group and classes in the afternoon for another ethnic group, all to avoid strife. 

My fear is that violence might erupt in the United States over Americans’ political differences. Much this discord has been initiated by politicians themselves. It seems like every time I hear a politician speak or watch a political ad, I hear declarations that they will fight for me and condemnations of those who have dissimilar views. “Condemnation” is still too mild a word when it comes to some politicians. Politicians, especially those who support Donald Trump, pretty much declare that those of us who disagree with them want to destroy the country — that we are misfits and degenerates. And many of those opposed to Trump brand his followers as ignorant or redneck. The current political divide has affected many people on a personal level. They worry that if they put certain political bumper stickers on their vehicle, it might get vandalized. Yard signs for political candidates disappear or are defaced. The division in this country has become sad and dangerous.

The National Guard has a history of preventing divides in this country and abroad. In the oath we take when we join, we pledge to uphold the Constitution, not one faction or the other. 

While on duty, members of the National Guard are prohibited from engaging in political activity. On every National Guard Division staff is a civil affairs section whose duty it is to enhance the relationship between military forces and civilian authorities. 

In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the governor from using the Guard to block Black students from integrating a high school in Little Rock. In Bosnia, we collected weapons from different factions and provided medical and dental care to locals. 

On the other hand, DonOLD Trump has no history of reaching across aisles. And he has already said that if he wins, he would take retribution 💢against those who wronged him. How far would that go if (God forbid❗) he is elected❓