To the Editor:

Michael Fielding writes about civil unrest, civil war and martial laws, all potential products of a Trump presidency, then goes on to suggest we all vote for him. Really? With all those threats?

He inherited a fine economy from Obama, he having seen us through the bank crisis and having reduced the unemployment rate of 10% near the beginning of his term to 4.7%. My Republican friend suggests that it was Trump’s handling of the economy that made him great, but we lost over 170,000 manufacturing jobs to foreign countries during his presidency.

Then he handed a COVID outbreak, which he denounced for three and a half months, causing a massive wave of death, and a terrible recession and an unemployment rate over 10% to Biden, who has drastically reduced unemployment to 3.9% and largely stabilized the economy in three-plus years.

Trump promised to prosecute Hillary; he didn’t. He promised to eliminate Obamacare day one and replace it with a better plan; he didn’t. He promised that Mexico would pay for The Wall; they paid not a dime. Instead Trump took $3.8 billion (that’s billions, people) from the Defense Department to build it. Then his buddy Steve Bannon went on to steal $1 million from the “charity” meant to continue it.

Trump calls our war dead suckers and losers, so between that and his diversion of (largely) Air Force funds, he is no friend of the armed services. Recently he expressed surprise that he wouldn’t have complete control of the military were he elected. That’s scary! For what reason would he need that?

He has twice mentioned a “bloodbath” at the border if he is not elected, inviting potential violence. Is this the unrest Fielding anticipates? He wants to “be a dictator day one.” Does anyone really believe he would limit it to that?

Rebecca Smith

Dayville