To the editor: I realize you try to maintain a semblance of balance in your Opinion section, but can’t a distinguished newspaper like the Los Angeles Times do better than a political reporter like Scott Jennings? (“Why I’m Not Worried About Trump Without Guardrails,” Opinion, Aug. 29).
Jennings is a product of the George W. Bush era and a protégé of prodigious liar Karl Rove. But in his latest piece on former President Trump, he attempts to outdo his mentor.
For example, with my comments in parentheses:
“For Trump, his actions on January 6 were a low point in a presidency that most Republicans otherwise found more than acceptable. [Apart from the first insurrection since the Civil War.] He cut taxes [on corporations and the wealthiest Americans]conservative judges appointed [such as the incompetent Aileen Cannon] and kept the nation safe [except for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who died when he downplayed the pandemic, put his totally unqualified son-in-law in charge of the medical supply shortage, ignored public health experts and promoted quack remedies such as ivermectin].”
No wonder Jennings is supporting a pathological liar for president.
Linda Whitener, Pawleys Island, South Carolina
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To the editor: Jennings says January 6, 2021 was a “low moment” in Trump’s presidency. The man tried to steal the election!
Jennings says Trump “kept us safe” even though he dismantled our pandemic protection unit before we were attacked, so there was no plan, no early warning, no quarantines. We were caught off guard and left to improvise.
This is more both sides, blah, blah, blah, from another partisan hack.
Michael Schaller, Temple City
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To the editor: I find Jennings' faith in the strength of institutional barriers, such as Congress and the Supreme Court, in the face of a possible second Trump administration utterly unconvincing.
Trump would ignore the Constitution if he could get away with it. He has said so. And Republicans in Congress as a bloc have shown no inclination to stand up for their own institutional responsibilities to rein in Trump’s excesses.
The Supreme Court, decisively weighted by Trump appointees, has just expanded the scope of presidential immunity to possibly allow the commission of manifestly illegal actions.
Jennings says Trump kept our nation safe. This ignores Trump's culpability in pandemic deaths. His indifference to the effects of climate change puts us all, and the entire world, at risk of worsening natural disasters.
And I can't believe Trump when he disassociates himself from the radical restructuring of the federal government proposed by many of his former staffers in Project 2025.
On the contrary, I find the warnings of those who worked closely with Trump that he was unfit for the presidency highly credible. America will survive a potential leftward turn better with a system of checks and balances within our constitutional framework than a turn toward autocracy that undermines the Constitution.
Frank Albers, Seal Beach
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To the editor: I always thought Jennings was a thoughtful person and worth listening to.
But his article about not worrying about Trump getting out of control in a second term as president was itself a mistake. Bombing Mexican drug cartels a good idea?
A convicted felon should not be anywhere near the Oval Office, Mr. Jennings.
Greg Figge, Tustin
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To the editor: Comparing Trump's behavior in the White House to that of President Biden made me scratch my head in wonder.
An administration official told Axios that “no one is safe” from Biden’s expletives, and the father of a former intern in Kamala Harris’s office said people were afraid of him when he was California attorney general.
Really? That's all you have, Mr. Jennings?
I'm glad Jennings says he has faith in the system and that voters have the opportunity to reward or punish policies every two years. I hope Jennings is right and that voters never let Trump near the White House again.
Nancy Reed, Woodland Hills
