The Republican party of Eisenhower, Reagan, Bush has been taken over by a would be dictator and is now the Trump party. It is a party whose leader has had seven bankruptcies, who mimics and mocks the handicapped, steals from his own nonprofit organization, lies about having heal spurs to avoid serving his country, (I had heal spurs and served three years), didn't like American hero John McCain because he was shot down, captured and was a prisoner of war for six years, disagrees with Jesus command pray for your enemies, and ran a bogus university and swindled hundreds of people out of their hard earned money.  I

t is hard to believe that such a corrupt man has converted the former Republican senators and branded them as the new Trump party. These senators have been reduced to nothing more than a bunch of Trump boot lickers and bottom kissers who will no longer exercise their constitutional responsibility of check and balance. 

One of saddest examples of the Trump bottom kissers is poor Lindsey Graham, formally one of the most respected men in the senate, now just another Trump boot licker.

I am an 84-year-old Ike, Reagan, Bush Republican who don't even won't to be anywhere near the Trump tent and certainly not inside it. I will, therefore, cast my vote for the man who can beat Trump and that man is Mike Bloomberg.

Homer L. Goins

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Mr. Goins,

When I reached my majority, my first vote was for John F. Kennedy.  Perhaps you did, too — we were young and idealistic in those days ( “...it was all Shining, it was Adam and maiden.”  — D. Thomas)

After they killed JFK, I suffered for a year under his successor, the Grand Designer of The Great Society, Lindon B. Johnson.  Having learned my lesson early, my presidential votes since JFK were Republican; until Dubya came along and became, in my opinion, a Democrat for all intents and purposes.  I did not vote for Obama, however.  I was too old and experienced to fall under his spell; snake oil is snake oil.  Then Hilary? Hardly. 

I voted for Donald Trump then and I will now; he has kept his promises insofar as Congress allowed — including The Wall that is going up and will continue to grow in securing our southern border from invasion (because that’s what it is).  Our economy is booming; unemployment is down to record levels; we have regained world dominance and stature (no bowing/ring kissing).  What’s not to like?  I care not what his past is…he has performed the Office of The President exactly as he told us he would.  How refreshing in a politician….er…a statesman.

John (Canary) McCain earned that nickname give by his fellow prisoners in the Hanoi Hilton.  He entered with a compound fractures of his arm and leg, yet was given scarce healthcare.  Why?  His father was not known at that time.  He refused to be repatriated although it was offered early on.  Again, why?  All is not what it appears.   John III was not his father.

R. Ronald Smith

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Mr. Smith,

Seems like you have those Fox News talking points down pat.  Maybe you should get out of your bubble and come into the real world.

You say Donald Trump has kept his promises, but what has he done besides massive tax cuts for large corporations and his rich friends? He had control of the Senate and House the first two of his three years in office.  No healthcare, no infrastructure, no immigration legislation.  Maybe that legislation was never accomplished because he has been playing golf at his properties for almost a year of the three years he has been in office.

On Dec. 17, 2019, acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan stated that 93 miles of new wall has been built during the Trump administration; according to CBP figures, at least 90 miles of that replaced existing structures.  No invasion like Fox News keeps telling you, and what about that promise that Mexico is going to pay for it and not U.S. taxpayers?

In his State of the Union speech Donald Trump said, “I took us out of years of economic decline”, “It was an economic reversal”, “I reversed failed economic policies”, which were all lies by the way.  We are in the 10th year of economic expansion in this country, which obviously started in the Obama administration.  Donald Trump created 6.7 million jobs in the last three years, but Obama created 8.1 million in his last three years.  The unemployment rate fell faster under Obama, it went from 10.2 (which he inherited from Bush) to 4.7.  It has slowed under Trump, falling another 1.2.  But heaven forbid we give any credit to the black man.  The federal budget deficit in the 2019 fiscal year was $1.109 trillion. The government was forced to borrow more money to pay for Trump’s tax and spending policies.

Farm bankruptcies are soaring due to his tariffs and farmer suicides are up.

The rest of the world is laughing at us, and as for Donald Trump being a statesman, all he does is act like a 10 year old bully attacking fellow Americans and our allies on Twitter, tweeting blatant lies and conspiracy theories, and for what you said about John McCain, shame on you.

What’s not to like?  Donald Trump.

Rebecca Gentry