Letters to the Editor: Trump has done more to protect inert statues than living, breathing Americans

To the editor: As Nicholas Goldberg mentions in his cautionary column regarding the president’s demagoguery, Donald Trump is outraged that protesters are tearing down statues of former generals and statesmen. In fact, he is preparing an executive order to protect these monuments.

What is sad and extremely dangerous about this is that Trump’s priorities are upside down. He seems more concerned about preserving these inert objects than he is about saving the lives of thousands of living, breathing individuals because of his lack of leadership, indifference and inaction in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.

Lewis Rosenthal, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Goldberg’s excellent column correctly summed up Trump’s recent campaign speeches as having a level of fear mongering and demagoguery not seen since the days of Sen. Joe McCarthy.

In fact, Roy Cohn, the infamous New York lawyer who was disbarred just before he died, played a key role in the lives of both McCarthy and Trump. Cohn served as chief counsel during McCarthy’s anti-communism hearings in the 1950s and later advised a young Trump when he was faced with housing discrimination charges in the 1970s.

Cohn advised his clients never to admit to a mistake and always double-down with vicious counterattacks, including insults and lies. Trump appears to have taken Cohn’s advice to heart, as he has elevated shamelessness to a new level during his presidency.

Gary Vogt, Menifee

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To the editor: I am old enough to remember when Tom Bradley ran against incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty in 1969.

Yorty was very unpopular, as Trump is now. The only way he could win was to scare L.A. residents by playing the race card against Bradley, and it worked.

Trump knows the only way he can win is to scare people into voting for him. Will history repeat itself? We can only hope Americans will reject this current demagogue.

Lee Posner, Tujunga