In a Nov. 16 letter published by the Beacon, the writer calls on us to “display a Purple 47” because “now is the time to get onboard and support” Donald Trump “as one unified group of Americans.” His request reflects a dangerously warped understanding of our responsibility as citizens of a democratic republic – the form of government that makes our 248-year-old nation truly worth defending.
We have no duty to support Trump just because he won the election, with less than 50% of the vote. Trump is no king. Like any president, if he wants unity, he must earn it, by abandoning his viciously divisive, flagrantly racist campaign rhetoric and instead responsibly serving the interests of all Americans.
Yet his cabinet appointments so far show he intends to do precisely the opposite. By naming delusional miscreants like Matt Gaetz, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard to many of the most critical positions in the government, Trump has demonstrated his insatiable drive to surround himself with henchmen whose ironclad personal loyalty will empty them of the tiniest temptations to follow the law or respect the rights of the people. Instead, they will help Trump weaponize federal law enforcement like never before, wreck Americans’ health by following superstitions and baseless conspiracy theories, terrorize communities of color, and surrender our foreign policy and intelligence secrets to Vladimir Putin.
As a veteran, the writer either misunderstands or has forgotten the oath he took, when he swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic [and] bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” Trump has said publicly that he wants to “suspend the Constitution” and behave like a dictator “on day one.”
Those of us who see Trump for the domestic enemy to the Constitution that he really is must oppose him by every peaceful means until he is no longer a threat. The very last thing we should do is sheepishly “get onboard” with him in the name of some purple hallucination of unity.
Edward Salmon
Columbia Falls