I can’t begin to describe how outraged I am to have Donald Trump and JD Vance as our president and vice president. Their public bullying of the Ukrainian president was beyond shameful.

I have never been a believer in American exceptionalism. Our nation has done too much that is unconscionable, including the disenfranchisement of Native Americans and the enslavement of people of color. Racism and antisemitism persist.

Yet, we have accomplished much that is truly remarkable: a home for countless immigrants seeking a new life, the veneration of the “rule of law,” the aspiration for those freedoms enumerated in our Bill of Rights and so much more. We have rescued Europe from tyranny in two world wars and stood as a beacon of democracy for peoples and countries throughout the world.

Now, one man is threatening all that is good about our country. Trump seeks only power and self-glorification. At home, he is trampling on established practices and norms, firing federal employees willy nilly and ignoring our separation of powers. Abroad, he is cozying up to autocrats, destroying our longstanding alliances and throwing Ukraine to the wolves.

Most Republicans lack the courage to say “no” to this tyrant. The judiciary is doing what it can, but Trump has already defied some court orders. We must stand up to him wherever and whenever we can. We must not lose heart and, most importantly, we must turn out the Trump enablers in the midterm elections.

Joe Hardy
Wells