DEAR EDITOR:

A Howland man wrote early in February that Democrats still talk about President Trump the same way and cry about his election. He said Biden pardoned too many people compared to the Jan. 6 convictions pardoned by Trump. He complained that too many “illegals” take away restaurant jobs from Americans. He complained that Trump was indicted over false claims while Hillary Clinton and Biden’s son were guilty but not charged. He believes that Democrats want “illegals” to get the vote so they can finish destroying America.

The writer should be aware of the post-election harassment that Democrats continue to receive from MAGAs. Why don’t you let it go? We certainly don’t want to ruin the country, and I don’t think there are too many immigrants and probably no “Illegals” by definition. We want to get along, and we must unite for democracy.

There is no comparison between Trump’s indictments and the accusations made against Hillary or the situation with Hunter. Biden was perfectly justified in pardoning his son, fearing Hunter would be treated poorly after Biden left office. Any president can pardon anything federal except impeachments, and they can change their minds.

Trump aided and comforted insurrectionists when he released 1,575 Jan. 6 prisoners. Most had pled guilty, and the others were found guilty by the grand jury and a petit jury or ordinary citizens randomly chosen. None of them worked for the Justice Department. Trial by jury is a key point of our justice system.

Trump, since then, has quickly become the dictator that he wanted to be on “day one.” He and Elon Musk are deconstructing the administrative state, as Steve Bannon always claimed. Musk has wide-sweeping power without either voter or congressional approval, and they aren’t telling us what they are finding. Trump is following exactly the guidelines of the ‘Mandate for Leadership,” which lists his name 312 times on executing Project 2025.

He has purged thousands of employees from our government by now. He has either replaced them with people who have sworn loyalty to Trump or eliminated their positions. He intended to cut funding for all types of federal programs, but thankfully, lawsuits put that on hold. His wild tariffs will raise our prices at the pump, at the store and just about everywhere we go. His bankruptcies indicate he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Our allies despise him. He is loading his cabinet with over a dozen billionaires. The Secretaries of Defense (Hegseth) and Health (Kennedy) are jokes. Elon Musk has no authority regarding our taxpayer dollars. Trump is turning our country to oligarchy, like in Russia. All elected officials should oppose him. I want our republic back.

LINDA COCUZZI RICHTER

Niles