Readers React: Trump’s victories provide a valuable lesson for Americans. But we don’t have to elect him

To the editor: This is the definition of “demagogue” from an 1880-90 edition of Webster’s dictionary: “One who panders to popular prejudice or seeks to inflame reasonless passions in the advancement of his personal interests.”

This is the definition from a 1970 Webster’s dictionary: “A person who tries to stir up the people by appeals to emotion, prejudice, etc. in order to become a leader and achieve selfish ends.”

We see this too often in South American countries. I never imagined we would see it here.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has done us a great service. He has confirmed that bigotry, xenophobia and hatred are not dead in this country, that we have much work yet to do.

Don’t shoot Trump; he is only the messenger. But don’t elect him either.

Tom Budlong, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I’ve been voting since Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey in 1948. One thing I always considered was how my vote might affect my paycheck. My fellow workers felt similarly; they cared less about foreign policy when a good paycheck was foreign to them.

The fear of no income, or one that doesn’t provide enough, tops all other priorities. Members of the working class are perpetually scrambling for their economic lives in a world that is bidding for their jobs and where employers don’t value their labor.

Trump’s declaration that he would bring back jobs and keep those that are here must be a major reason he has captured the GOP nomination.

It still is and always will be the economy, and today it is our country’s biggest problem. Too many don’t understand that, but it seems Trump does.

Ken Johnson, Piñon Hills, Calif.

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To the editor: Pundits will long debate how it is that Trump became the nominee. Most point to his ability to disarm his opponents through intimidation, sarcasm and obfuscation.

Trump’s bullying hardly explains his ascendancy. In prior election cycles such a tactic could never have gained traction. The party would not have countenanced seeing its candidates mocked and demeaned on national TV. This was the year where it became evident that the GOP lacked authority because it had sacrificed any claim to serving a higher purpose.

Recently, many in the party delighted as Trump promoted the birther lie. The GOP recruited the uncivil tea party into its ranks. As a result, the party has become ungovernable. It can no longer expect normative standards of conduct.

Trump is no accident. He has simply made his way down a road paved more than a decade ago in the Republican Party. The GOP deserves the leadership it gets.

Geoffrey Gilbert, Calabasas

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To the editor: The remaining candidates (Trump and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders) are urbane. In fact, all three are New Yorkers (two are natives, and one moved there).

For the first time in years we, don’t have to listen to Bible thumpers.

Michael Krubiner, Valley Village

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To the editor: Your editorial states the obvious about Trump, but he has succeeded in large part because of the media. All of you have given him near-constant coverage, far more than Clinton or Sanders.

You have ensured his nomination.

Mary Duque, Burbank

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