DEAR EDITOR:

President Trump is wrong to send soldiers to manage citizens in Washington, D.C., or any other cities: We pay for the military. We pay for recruitment, uniforms, training, and weapons with our tax money. So Trump cannot use them against us.

The National Guard is not needed in Washington, as records show that violent crime in the city has dropped over the last two years. But Trump is a tyrant who cannot resist throwing his weight around.

He just loves having the authority to send soldiers. He’s telling us he can do that and we cannot stop him. He’s telling us we’d better remember he’s the boss.

Thank you, disloyal Republicans, for inflicting this wretched punishment on the country. It is our Republican-elected legislators who sit in the Senate and the House and allow Trump to get away with ruinous tariffs, closure of the Department of Education, and generally usurp the power of the purse. The Supreme Court also gives him free rein. Trump may have been duly elected, but his approval rating now stands at

38% in several polls.

I would like to know how our tax dollars serve the citizens who pay the taxes. Things that we want are being cut and services limited. People will lose Medicaid and food assistance, but not until after the midterm elections. That way people will think Medicaid won’t be cut, but it will be gone once the Republicans are reelected.

People like Sen. Bernie Moreno (202-224-2315), Sen. Jon Husted (202-224-3353), Rep. Dave Joyce (202-225-5731), and Rep. Michael Rulli (202-225-5705) are giving Trump a free pass to do whatever he wants. They never, ever vote against anything he wants. They approve the money he wants to spend on concentration camps for immigrants; they ignore that only 6% of criminal immigrants have been detained while they have seized innocent immigrants who work, pay taxes and raise their families here. They ignore his ever-sliding ratings.

We cannot stand his use of the military on ordinary citizens, on taxpayers like us. We pay for the military, so how can he use soldiers against us? He must pay for them another way. We need legislators who will protect our needs and rights effectively. We are Americans, not criminals.

There is an economic blackout scheduled for Labor Day. Don’t forget to call your senators and Congress people. Call them often.

LINDA COCUZZI RICHTER

Niles