Letters to the Editor: Stop trying to figure out Trump’s base. Beating him is all that matters

To the editor: The Los Angeles Times has devoted much ink and digital pixels to plumbing the mysteries of President Trump’s base. May I make a modest suggestion to fellow citizens eager to end this malignant administration?

Stop. This speculation is not useful.

Instead, turn your energy to what we Californians can do that could make a difference. Because the election will be decided in a few battleground states, we should join one of many efforts to encourage registered voters in those states that are likely to swing Democratic to vote. Research shows these efforts have small but significant impacts.

Barring something unexpected before November, the outlines of the election are set; the devastating loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg won’t change this.

Biden will have a single-digit popular vote lead. Trump will have an advantage in many states, but just as important he will have several thumbs on the scale, including the electoral college, his U.S. Postal Service crony and voter suppression.

We must counterbalance them all.

Claude Goldenberg, Seal Beach

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To the editor: I would like to respond to the reader who complains that the left does not give the president enough credit for his “successes.”

Tariffs and trade deals were a tax on the American consumer. How many farmers went bankrupt?

How can the Middle East plan be called a success without including the Palestinians?

How can an immigration policy that separates children from their parents be beneficial?

Trump’s economic “success” is based on the stock market. How many working-class Americans own stock?

Only in an Orwellian world can these be called successes.

Lynne T. Jewell, Los Feliz

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To the editor: The writer who said that hate drives Trump’s base is correct.

However, it’s not hatred of Black Americans, immigrants, strong women or even liberals. Rather, it’s about hatred of liberal policies.

Connie Veldkamp, Laguna Niguel

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To the editor: The letter writers fail to explain why so many Americans still support Trump in spite of his many failings and transgressions.

Western culture’s foremost explorer of the human psyche, Sigmund Freud, had the answer more than a century ago: Our beliefs are created in our subconscious as wishes.

Charismatic individuals such as Trump are able to manipulate emotions and beliefs — and beliefs will win any and all battles with facts.

Richard Parr, Santa Monica