Letters: Trump will fix it | Democracy is failing | Will economy improve?

Trump will fix failing country

Nov. 5, 2024, will be remembered as “The Day the Peasants Revolted!” On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, of all people, spoke a truth that Donald Trump and we MAGA deplorable/garbage Trump supporters have tried to get through to the far left for years. “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” he explained.

People from every race, every ethnic group, every religion, and every region of the country filling up their gas tanks and going to the grocery store aren’t interested in Beyoncé, Cardi B or Bruce Springsteen. They want to know there is someone who cares for their needs and will fix their failing country.

Donald Trump listened and heard. This is why he will ride into Washington in January on a landslide.

Richard Pluth Casselberry

Democracy slipping away

How did this happen? Where is our country heading? A criminal occupies the highest office, promising no more elections, saying: “You’ll never have to vote again.” This is the same person who sparked the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on our government, leading to multiple deaths. Now, he threatens to arrest opponents and openly speaks of dictatorship, even if “just for a day.” But would it be only a day? The U.S. is slipping toward autocracy, where rights are stripped from Americans. What has gone wrong with half our population?

This is the man who mismanaged a pandemic that took over a million American lives and left us with the worst jobs record in modern history. He misused federal power, pressuring Ukraine for political gain, diverting military funds for a border wall Mexico never paid for, and allowing mercury and asbestos back into our environment. He weaponized federal aid, using it against Democratic states and cities.

And now there’s Project 2025 — a roadmap that seems designed to dismantle democracy itself: abolishing the Department of Education, eroding reproductive rights, and wielding “expedited removal” through ICE. Have they thought about who will work our fields, harvest our produce and do essential labor? Ancient Rome’s downfall warns us: labor shortages led to economic collapse, a society brought to its knees.

Benjamin Franklin warned us, saying, “A republic, if you can keep it.” This year may mark the end of that promise, as we watch democracy slip away.

Dorothy Lemmey Lakeland

Check your wallets in a year

Here is an interesting experiment we can all participate in. First, make a note of how much gas is today. I paid $2.89 at my local station this week. Then, save a copy of your grocery bill this week. Let’s revisit these numbers on Nov. 5, 2025. That should give Trump and his minions enough time to solve all the problems of his voters who are struggling. At the same time, make a note of this week’s stock market numbers.

Yes, they jumped considerably after his anointing on Tuesday. Let’s see how they hold up. These are totally different experiments but represent the two classes of people who voted for him. The poor and disenfranchised, and the well-invested. Trust me, I really hope that I am so wrong. But I am willing to bet that they will both be either the same, or actually more expensive (or shrinking portfolios in the second case). You will not be allowed to say “Elon said it would be worse before it got better,” because that is just another of the gaslighting ways of the right on how they lay the groundwork for their doings.  Good luck, everyone!

Alex Jimenez Winter Park