Letters to the Editor: It’s time to stop attacking Trump’s initial coronavirus response

To the editor: Doyle McManus’ weaponization of the coronavirus crisis to attack President Trump is inappropriate at this time of national emergency.

McManus’ piece was unfair to the president because it was Trump’s travel ban with China, Italy and Iran that set the tone for the action by state governors cited. It was incomplete because McManus failed to recognize the positive efforts to bring all segments of society into the effort.

This is a time for a united national effort, not one to seek political gain. There is no doubt that mistakes have been made, but as Kenny Rogers might sing, “There’ll be time enough for counting when the dealing’s done.”

Fritz Mehrtens, Irvine

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To the editor: Can Trump recover from the bungled outbreak response? This question assumes a lot.

It assumes that Trump sees recovery as something he needs, that Trump cares about recovering from anything, and most of all it assumes that it matters to him and anyone around him whether or not he continues to bungle the outbreak response.

McManus is a seasoned journalist, so I won’t presume he doesn’t know he is communicating in this paper with an audience completely external to the Fox News radar, and it is highly unlikely he will reach anyone within it.

The problem here is not McManus’ piece itself, but rather the fact that it has become impossible to say anything about Trump that can be constructive. He has become dangerous to our health, education and welfare, and no amount of critiquing in the press will bring anything to bear on this.

Really, we can only pray that the coronavirus will, by some stroke of luck, become this president’s downfall.

Lane Barden, Los Angeles

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To the editor: One thing McManus didn’t mention in his article when quoting Trump’s press conference reference to a Google website for test scheduling was that Trump could not resist attacking President Obama with a snippy, “It’s gonna be very quickly done, unlike websites of the past.”

The leader of the free world demonstrates, even during a dire national emergency, that he is petty and insecure.

Jon Rowe, Costa Mesa