Readers React: Trump acts like an asset of Russia. Whether he intends to be one is less important

To the editor: Columnist Jonah Goldberg listed several of President Trump’s suspicious actions related to Russia while at the same time suggesting that they could have an innocent explanation.

Is Goldberg not aware that lying about or hiding something is evidence of consciousness of guilt? Trump repeatedly denied having any business dealings with Russia, while we now know that his company was pursuing a building project in Moscow deep into the 2016 campaign.

We recently learned that Trump reportedly confiscated his translator’s notes from a meeting he had with his Russian counterpart. Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, knows what was said, and he knows that Trump is keeping that information from the American people, which gives him leverage over the president.

Furthermore, Trump has advocated pulling out of Syria and has reportedly wanted to pull the U.S. out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The president may not have intended to become an asset of Russia, but almost everything he has said and done has put him in Putin’s pocket.

Dorothy Gravino, Los Angeles

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To the editor: All we can do at this point is speculate about whether or not Trump is an asset of the Russians. The New York Times article that Goldberg cites is based on solid evidence, but according to him it is both “understandable and outrageous.”

What I find objectionable is Goldberg’s assertion that this could all be explained away by Trump’s incompetence and petulance. The behavior of our president should not be tolerated by the people in Washington who are supposed to exercise oversight.

Trump is one of the most powerful leaders on the planet. He threatens our security by embracing autocrats like Putin and rejecting our allies. The real national emergency is an incompetent president and lawmakers who are unwilling to hold Trump accountable.

John Beckman, Chino Hills

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