To the editor:
I have not read Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt's book, "How Democracies Die," so maybe this following issue is discussed in their book. ("Trump attacks on Russia investigation threaten U.S. democracy, authors say," Feb. 6)
President Trump's most basic assault on our democratic institutions is his willingness to lie and deny facts. Trump began his political rise by promoting his bigoted "birther" lie, which taught the future president that he could utter any falsehood and people would believe him and not the facts or the truth.
Trump's ability to convince gullible people to believe his lies ties directly to Trump's demand for personal loyalty. In our democracy, we pledge our allegiance to our Constitution and not to the individual. For Trump, allegiance is owed to him personally. Loyalty to an individual is the hallmark of authoritarianism.
Trump's lies and his demand for personal loyalty are the core threats to our democracy.
Arch Miller, Arcadia
Note from KBJ: I'm still unaware of a single lie told by Donald Trump. You don't have anything, do you, Arch? Just "racist" and "liar," which have come to mean nothing through overuse.
