Dear Editor,

When the US lost 58,000 service members in the war in Vietnam, our nation was plunged into self-doubt and criticism. We are now nearing the total number of deaths from Covid-19 that is five times as great, 268,500 as of November 28… in less than ten months. 

When our current president was made aware of this back in February, he stated to Bob Woodward of the New York Times that this virus was much worse than the common flu because it was more deadly, and it was AIRBORNE. What did “the Donald” do with this information. In his words, he didn’t want to panic the country. So, he deliberately lied, repeatedly. Among his whoppers, he said it would just go away by Easter, go away in warm weather, etc. He wondered if we could use bleach internally. He mocked people wearing masks. He blamed China, took the US out of the World Health Organization, called it the “China Virus”. He spread misinformation via tweet touting conspiracy theories. He fired anyone who stood up to him and openly feuded with Dr Anthony Fauci. He appointed a hack doctor, Dr Atlas, who would further spread misinformation. Then he got into the culture wars by tweeting that “we” should “liberate Minnesota” and “Liberate Michigan”. We saw what a liberated Michigan looked like when the FBI stopped a plot to kidnap their governor.   

I do credit Trump for speeding up the vaccine process. I also agree that China is not without blame as they tried to suppress information about the virus initially and censured the doctor in China who first discovered it. 

But that’s the limit of our leader’s vision. When we needed a true leader, so we could all join in a common purpose, he couldn’t rise to the occasion. How many thousands might have been saved had he shown some leadership and listened to science? 

He lost the 2020 election by over 6 million votes. In the 2016 election, Hillary won the popular vote by just under 3 million but lost the electoral college vote. She conceded that night. Trump brought his base in big numbers. He gained nearly 11 million more votes since 2016, but Biden expanded his base by over 14 million more votes. For many voters, this election was about Trump’s handling of the virus. For others, they wanted a change from the tweets, personal attacks and chaos. Many despise him and think he is a fool or perhaps mentally ill.

  As of today, Republican lawyers have filed 36 lawsuits in multiple states and lost 35 so far. They have recounted ballots in Georgia, and Wisconsin. No substantive change in outcome. On Saturday, November 21, a conservative judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a Trump lawsuit challenging Joe Biden’s victory in that state. Judge Matthew Brann accused the Trump team of trying to, “disenfranchise almost seven million voters,” by using “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations … unsupported by evidence. This claim, like Frankenstein’s monster, has been haphazardly stitched together,” This ruling was then upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Trump, unrelenting, tweets continuously and went on Fox TV to claim still that the election was rigged.  

We have had lifelong Republican voting officials and judges consistently standing up for the integrity of this past election. Christopher Krebs, director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was on 60 Minutes defending this election and stating that it was the most secure election in American history. He was fired in a Tweet by Trump. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a lifelong Republican countered Trump’s accusations that the Georgia election was rigged, stating that he had voted for Trump and donated to his campaign, but the election results don’t lie. 

Trump’s continual condemnation of the election results undermine confidence in our elections and in our democracy itself. It is a long time to move on, Donald, and think about the good of our country, instead of your own fragile ego. Take the high ground! Help us heal if you can.

Bill Thibedeau
Gilpin County