Offensive defense

To the Editor:

Donald Trump is arguably “the most dangerous man in America,” as Henry Kissinger described Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers. The former president is using fascist tropes in his campaign. 

He has called his political opponents “communist … vermin,” and said the “threat [to America] is within,” and that the migrant onslaught at the border is “poisoning the blood of our country.” 

Agenda 47, a Trump campaign document, contains the following: “Protecting students from the radical left and Marxist maniacs infecting educational institutions; a day one executive order ending citizenship for children of illegals and outlawing birth tourism; a plan to end crime and restore law and order; firing the radical Marxist prosecutors destroying America; and a plan to dismantle the deep state and return power to the American people.” Although Trump faces four criminal prosecutions and 91 felony counts, he has consolidated control of the Republican Party and is on track for a rematch against Joe Biden. 

Unfortunately, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the Biden administration and the vast majority of Democrats in Congress have alienated key parts of Biden’s base. They support a militaristic foreign policy, such as the shipment of weapons to war zones throughout the world. The United States also spends more on its military than the next 15 countries combined. Its defense budget is equal to 40 percent of the world’s military spending. The defense contractors, whom Biden calls the “arsenal of democracy,” receive about half of our trillion-dollar military budget. 

In a closely contested presidential election that will likely be decided in six battleground states, a significant number of young people, progressives and other Americans will not vote for Biden because of his administration’s and party’s foreign policy. 

Howard Elterman