Letters to the Editor: How we the people are letting Trump destroy our democracy

To the editor: If you’re one of the millions of Americans who believes the 2020 presidential election was stolen, I’ve got bad news for you — former President Trump has played you for a fool.

As Jackie Calmes notes in her excellent column, the House Jan. 6 committee has provided an overview of the many ways in which Trump tried to cheat his way into remaining in power after losing the election. After repeatedly failing to win election challenges in courts, Trump motivated his followers to storm the U.S. Capitol by telling them the election was stolen even though he had no credible evidence of fraud.

There is a failure here, and it’s not the committee’s. It’s the failure of many Americans to grasp the seriousness of Trump’s malfeasance — malfeasance that is damaging our democracy by eroding the trust that Americans have had in one another.

And, it’s this trust that has provided America with peaceful transfers of power for the 220 years prior to 2021.

David Michels, Encino

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To the editor: There will not be closure on insurrection until Trump is arrested, convicted and incarcerated for committing seditious conspiracy.

What he has done is indefensible. Rioter Ashli Babbitt and the police officers who died during the attack or in the aftermath would be alive today but for Trump’s behavior.

The House Jan. 6 committee has done a remarkable job proving its case, but the Republican Party needs to acknowledge the error of its ways and support the Department of Justice as it investigates and possibly prosecutes Trump.

For now, it is up to the American people to vote Republicans out of office so a Trump-style insurrection never happens again.

Craig Simmons, Northridge