TO the editor: Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance is the perfect choice for Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate.
Like many others who have become Trump sycophants and sellouts, Vance initially saw the light in who Trump is, even comparing him to Hitler. He then learned that if he wants to achieve power, he will have to align himself with the rest of the Trump-publican Party and express his adoration and devotion to their leader.
Vance has consequently joined Trump in lying about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, going so far as to say he seriously doubts the vice president [Mike] Pence’s life was endangered by the crazed mob that invaded and desecrated the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Vance shamefully and immediately blamed President Biden for the vile assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. He seeks to foment anger and division, and his invective was uttered before anything was known about the gunman.
The two privileged men wronged are two drops of water.
Oren Spiegler, Peters Township, Pennsylvania.
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TO the editor: Now that Senator JD Vance is the Republican vice presidential nominee, a sequel to “Peasant Elegy” would be fitting. Not only did Vance come from poverty, but his family was dysfunctional as well. However, Vance was determined to break out of the vicious cycle, get a good education, and become a productive citizen. Although he's now living the American dream, he did it the old-fashioned way: He earned it. With 270 electoral college votes, Vance and former President Donald Trump will be on their way to Making America Great and Safe Again. Godspeed!
JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater, Floridato.
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TO the editor: If it seems strange that a man who said “Trump could be America’s Hitler” was Trump’s pick for vice president, perhaps we’re overlooking the fact that Trump admires Hitler.
Gary Davis, Los Angeles
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TO the editor: It should be noted that Vance is not actually from Appalachia, as is often claimed, but from Middletown, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. Vance does not represent Appalachia in any way, except in his own mind.
Leslie's stem, Gardena
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TO the editor: Donald Trump has chosen MAGA lunatic and election denier JD Vance as his running mate. It is no surprise that Trump has chosen someone as crazy as Vance. [who has] Little or no experience!
Richard A. French, Pasadena
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To the editor: The great irony of the JD Vance story is that he now comes to power on the strength of the attitudes and character of people he vilified to make himself famous. “Locked in the toxic amber” of a bygone white America, driven by grievance and cultural ignorance, many of Vance’s “hillbillies” now form the base of a dangerous autocratic movement that cares nothing for their real needs and suffering. They are the troops in the conflict for control of the country.
Vance’s cynical manipulation of his own roots and his 180-degree opinion of Donald Trump leans on them. “I love the uneducated,” Trump once said (though he loved no one but himself). Now, in JD Vance, he has found someone to love and manipulate.
Mitch Paradise, Los Angeles
