Dear Editor, 

Robert Wills provides us with a good chuckle (letter, Liberty Valance) in describing the president of the United States as a “senile sociopath – a vulgar selfish blob of bad taste”. And sure enough we need reason to laugh given the heartless cruelty and stupidity of the current American government. In democracies our elected officials are supposed to represent their constituents. Donald Trump has no such inclination. His majority in Congress is paper thin as is the majority in the Senate. Why on earth would he think that was sufficient cause to turn the country—and the world—upside down? Winning an election does not give you free reign to do whatever you want.

Responsible elected politicians listen to the people who elected them. Clearly half of the American people want no part of his draconian racist policies. He has dragged the American government into the stinky swamp of redneck malevolence. The guardrails of American democracy have failed. Trump does not respect the tradition of American democracy, and he does not respect the American people, never mind the people of the world. Wills poses a question perturbing many Canadians: who will stand up to this bully regime?

Carl Hager, Gatineau