When Donald Trump took his oath of office he swore to "preserve, protect and defend"

Echo opinion to the Editor of the Illinois Northwest Herald:

While speaking recently to reporters before a televised cabinet meeting, Donald Trump displayed anger, resentment and disbelief over having to cancel his plans to hold the G-7 meeting of world leaders at Doral, his private, for-profit club. 

In fact, Trump was irate and scornfully dismissive that anyone would even suggest he would have profited from this event. In his typically nonsensical manner, he sneered, “You people with this phony emoluments clause!”

That pesky emoluments clause of the Constitution is Article I, Section 9, Clause 8: “[N]o person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” It couples with an Article II restriction barring the president from receiving “any other Emolument” other than a fixed salary from federal or state governments.

Nancy Pelosi orders impeachment probe: ‘No one is above the law’

In short, presidents are explicitly barred from accepting things of value from either foreign governments or our own, because doing so would obviously be extremely very corrupt.

It would seem someone in the White House, perhaps one of his numerous attorneys, could have schooled him on the “phony” emoluments clause. That he wasn’t aware seems to contradict his recent tweet: “What you have now, so great looking and smart, a true Stable Genius!”

Or, he really does believe our laws don’t apply to him.

In short, presidents are explicitly barred from accepting things of value from either foreign governments or our own, because doing so would obviously be extremely very corrupt.

It would seem someone in the White House, perhaps one of his numerous attorneys, could have schooled him on the “phony” emoluments clause. That he wasn’t aware seems to contradict his recent tweet: “What you have now, so great looking and smart, a true Stable Genius!”

Or, he really does believe our laws don’t apply to him.

If Trump believes the Constitution or parts of it are “phony” and therefore shouldn’t apply to him, was the oath he swore to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution also phony?

Helen Torscher Crystal Lake, Illinois 

Donald Trump motivates his cult by fear - echo from Illinois

To the Editor of the Northwest Herald, an Illinois newspaper:

Donald Trump ran for president to bolster his business interests.

He never intended to win and actually be president. Once elected, Trump never intended to help people or promote democracy, as all of our previous presidents did. His only intention is to flatter his base into reelecting him. Tactically, that requires him to suck up headlines so that his base is not exposed to contradictory ideas or approaches.

He is so lacking in original ideas that his most recent tactic is to announce outlandish, fear-based actions, then back down before returning to the outlandish position. That way, he can consume an exponentially higher amount of air time over a longer period with only one issue.

Most importantly, he knows his supporters are motivated by fear. All of his propositions are based on fear, which necessitates misinformation and lies. His supporters do not know or seem unconcerned that their options for health care are disappearing (both in facilities and affordability); that consumer and employee rights are evaporating; that he is destroying the viability of family farms; that government benefits are decreasing; or that regulations concerning safe food, air, water and drugs are disappearing.

Unfortunately, the main job of the media has changed. It no longer can rely on reporting the daily happenings.

The electorate desperately needs the media to report what is not announced – the changes being made to the social safety net; environmental safety; workplace and worker safety; drug and food safety; and the fact that his new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement forever bans consumer or government interference with drug prices, to name a few.

Cece Drazek in Marengo, IL