lodibet Assessing Trump’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ First Week

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To the Editor:

Re “Shattering the Bounds of the Oval Office,” by Peter Baker (news analysis, front page, Jan. 26):

No one should be surprised by President Trump’s norm-busting actions, because he repeatedly indicated during the campaign that he had contempt for democracy and the rule of law. He has said he believes that a president could do anything and not be held accountable.

Mr. Trump has a pliable Republican Party, while the Democratic Party is dazed and confused after the losses sustained in the election. The only check on him will be the courts, and it remains to be seen if he will adhere to court rulings.

The U.S. is in uncharted territory, with democracy in peril. But no one can say they did not know what Mr. Trump would do. Unfortunately, many people did not take him at his word.

Steven E. CerierQueens

To the Editor:

Is it Pollyannaish to believe that MAGA world has begun to implode? It’s not just that the egos and billionaires surrounding President Trump are clashing. It seems that President Trump and his idealistically rabid sycophants have perhaps gone too far too fast.

A Reagan-appointed judge, within days of its issuance,pogo88 official put on hold Mr. Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. Two members of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority have indicated that they realize that Mr. Trump cannot go unchecked after all, in rejecting his request to be spared sentencing.

Polling shows that a majority of Americans didn’t want violent Jan. 6 offenders pardoned. Apparently, only the most radical of Mr. Trump’s base support the idea that criminals who attack law enforcement with flagpoles and bear spray should be set free.

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Overall, violent crime fell 3 percent and property crime fell 2.6 percent in 2023, with burglaries down 7.6 percent and larceny down 4.4 percent. Car thefts, though, continue to be an exception, rising more than 12 percent from the year before.

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