President Trump is a danger to U.S.
Many Americans have tolerated Donald Trump's bigotry for 3½ years. They can no longer ignore how his dismantling of American institutions and his nepotism have empowered this bigotry.
Trump dismissed qualified heads of the CDC and other public health officials before the worst pandemic in 100 years.
He has filled major advisory positions with family members and backers who have no credentials to guide America through this crisis. Jared and Ivanka Kushner know their respective businesses, slum-lording and fashion; they are ill-fit to advise an American president on pandemics. This explains why it took two months for Trump to acknowledge the lethality of COVID-19.
The virus has ravaged mainly African and Latino Americans, our poorest communities. Trump never hid his desire to see fewer of these people around.
This nepotism is reminiscent of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Prior to his overthrow by U.S. troops, Hussein appointed his relatives to major leadership positions. These sycophants did nothing to stop Saddam when he deployed chemical weapons on his own citizens.
Trump has acted similarly, deploying tear gas against peaceful protesters in D.C. to clear them out from the "set" of his campaign ad.
He already had obstructed justice by instructing his attorney generals not to investigate cases of police misconduct. The officer who choked George Floyd to death was aware of this cover. Trump had pardoned several authorities convicted of criminal action, the most notorious being the openly racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona.
These precedents should awaken Americans that we are vulnerable to the whims of a president who will dismiss our liberties for a photo-op; who will pardon criminals sharing his views; and who will pretend everything is normal as tens of thousands of Americans die from a virus.
The longer Trump remains in power, the worse shall our social and health crises become.
Caise D. Hassan
Lemont