I admit I have never felt Donald Trump had the judgment or character to be the president. As his presidency progressed, his actions only strengthened my opinion.
When the overwhelming consensus among U.S. intelligence agencies was that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election, Trump sided with Vladimir Putin when Putin stated Russia did not interfere. Robert Mueller was able to gather enough evidence to indict 12 Russian intelligence officers for their role in hacking into the Democratic computer system.
Then there was the time Trump tried to extort the Ukrainian president by withholding congressionally mandated military aid to pressure Ukraine to open investigations for Trump’s political benefit. Later, after losing Georgia in the 2020 election, Trump, in a taped call, pressured Georgia officials to “find” votes to overturn the election.
Consider Trump’s actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. After encouraging his supporters march to the Capitol building and “fight like hell” and watching the riot for several hours, Trump eventually tweets about the rioters, “We love you. You’re very special.”
The National Archives confirmed that Trump had “classified” and “top secret” documents at Mar-a-Lago after his presidency ended. Not exactly a secure location.
Trump showed incredibly poor judgment when issuing complimentary statements about Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. World leaders are nearly unanimous in condemning Russia’s aggression. Countries with leaders who have not condemned Putin’s invasion of Ukraine include Iran, North Korea and China. Not exactly stellar company.
Considering Trump’s praise of Putin after the invasion of Ukraine, I would suggest that Trump admires Putin, and envies Putin’s dictatorial power. Is this an attribute American leaders should have? When evaluating candidates in upcoming elections, the judgment and character of candidates pandering for Trump’s endorsement should be as suspect as Trump himself.
— Carl Humenik, Jackson Township
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Letter to the editor: Trump continues to show poor judgment
