Republicans who showed up at Trump’s NYC trial were way out of their lane | Opinion
GOP guests
By showing up at Trump’s trial, the group of nearly identically dressed prospective vice presidential candidates and House Speaker Mike Johnson proved once again just how far the Republican Party has drifted away from our country’s foundational principle of the rule of law. To openly denigrate an ongoing trial, the judge and district attorney on behalf of Trump is as embarrassing as it is dangerous.
This case is based on evidence and law, and follows a grand jury indictment. Having members of Congress jump out of their lane in an attempt to tip the scales of justice and gaslight the American people is shameful.
Willard Osburn, Cornelius
House speaker
House Speaker Mike Johnson traveled to a courthouse in New York City to support a former president and current presidential candidate, already held civilly liable for sexual assault. That candidate is now charged with falsifying financial records to hide cover-up payments to an adult film actress with whom he allegedly had a sexual tryst.
The speaker is famous for saying that to find his convictions simply read the Bible. I’m wondering if Speaker Johnson and many evangelicals might have skipped over Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18.
To quote the Church Lady from Saturday Night Live: “How convenient!”
Joel B. Miller, Charlotte
UNC and DEI
The writer is a rising senior at UNC and member of the Affirmative Action Coalition.
The repeal of DEI is not a defense of UNC’s troubled history. It is an attempt to drown it, prevent it from ever resurfacing.
For 160 years, UNC functioned explicitly for the success of white students. It has done so implicitly ever since. As a majority white, majority male Board of Trustees diverts DEI funds to the university police, who violently stifle student dissent, this has never been more evident. In the decades-long struggle for freedom between people of color and police, UNC has chosen police. In the broader moral debate about what a society must do to reckon with its past, UNC has chosen denial.
Julian Taylor, Chapel Hill
Campus protests
For change to happen, people need to be on your side. I sense protesters seldom understand that a compelling cause can often draw the public to their side, without being asked. Yet, when they cross that “protest peacefully” line, they lose the supporters they so hope to influence. Peaceful, passionate, thoughtful dissent is a better bet to win the day.
Harry Taylor, Charlotte
A public thanks
I am the uncle of Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Weeks, Jr. who was killed in the line of duty April 29 in Charlotte. I want to publicly thank the people of Charlotte, the men and women in local law enforcement, and especially those with the Western N.C. District of the U.S. Marshals Service for the comfort and caring they showed the entire family while we grieved Tommy’s passing. I cannot express enough how the entire city and first responders made the situation just a little bit easier to handle.
God bless all of you.
Michael W. Harrison, Edgewater, MD
Trump, basic math
Regarding “The math looks bleak for Trump — until you factor in Joe Biden” (May 14):
Simple addition will sink Trump.
Seven states have voted on abortion measures since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and anti-abortion positions have lost every time.
Math also supports Biden talking about gun violence: Overall, 64% of Americans favor stricter gun control laws.
Biden’s economic programs outperform Trump: our economy is averaging 300,000 new jobs per month since January 2022. Average annual GDP growth for the first three years of the Biden administration comes in at 3.4% — far outpacing Trump.
Those numbers don’t even include Trump’s four indictments, with a total of 88 felony charges.
Amy Lefkof, Charlotte
Gaza atrocities
Does nobody else see it?
I recently watched a documentary about WWII and the atrocities that took place against innocent Jewish people. Can people really not see the parallels to the situation in Gaza today?
Israel must check Prime Minister Netanyahu’s power now.
Benjamin J. Harris, Charlotte
