Disregard for our values
What is wrong with President Donald Trump? It was disgraceful to hear the president praise Paul Manafort and criticize prosecutors while the jury was deliberating in his trial. This showed an utter disregard for the jury system, a system of law fundamental to our nation since its inception. Even after Manafort was found guilty, the president continued to vouch for his character, ignoring his conviction.
It is incomprehsible that the president, an avowed law-and-order advocate, is not appalled by tax evasion and bank fraud. Meanwhile, last week, the president called John Dean a "rat" for turning against Richard Nixon. I didn't think that there were any among us who viewed John Dean as the villain in the Watergate scandal.
The president displays the mentality of a mob boss, valuing loyalty over honesty. In just one week last month, the president sought to undermine our judicial system, showed no concern for white-collar financial crimes and demonstrated that the lessons that he has gleaned from history are the wrong ones. Combined, these instances represent a deplorable failure of leadership that tries to push his supporters to undermine our most basic values.
Andrew Turner
Libertyville