Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

Here are highlights from Stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia.

To the editor:

The president has it wrong: Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation is not a witch hunt. It's a "what" hunt. ("Mueller's investigation isn't going to 'wrap up' soon—and Trump is still in peril," Opinion, May 16)

What happened to our intelligence services during the run-up to the 2016 election? What happened when James B. Comey, the then director of the FBI, made a questionable call in announcing the status of the non-case of Hillary Clinton's emails?

And what misalignment of Russian craft and an egomaniac's ambition for power has almost destroyed the very paradigm of democracy and freedom?

Sheldon Willens, Los Angeles

Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the World’s most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

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….At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren’t looking at the corruption…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

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…in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got $145,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife $700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

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Here are highlights from Stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia.

Jill Filipovic is only now beginning to realize that men support abortion rights in order to increase their opportunities for sex. The availability of abortion makes sex less costly to women, and that makes them more willing to engage in sex. If I were a woman, I wouldn't trust a progressive man, and I certainly wouldn't trust a man who claims to be a feminist.

PG executive editor David M. Shribman hit the nail on the head when he pointed out Donald Trump’s lack of respect for precedent and diminished deference for his predecessors (May 13 column, “The Presidential Predecessor Precedent”). One could argue that Mr. Trump approaches his office like no one else who served before him. Whether this approach is good or bad remains to be seen.

But I believe this points to a larger character issue that all Americans should be concerned about that could have ramifications for generations to come: Mr. Trump’s utter lack of respect for anyone regardless of their status and accomplishments for American society and the willingness of his supporters to buy into his hyperbole.

After the 2016 election, despite being devastated by the results, I was willing to give Mr. Trump a chance. I believed that if he turned away from the divisiveness of his campaign and focused on bringing all Americans together by working on issues that affect all Americans, he might be able to pull this off. What struck me early on, making it quite evident this would not be possible, was his continued and often vicious attacks against his predecessor, Barack Obama, and anyone who he deemed in opposition to any position or opinion he had.

Past presidents clearly had differences of opinion when it came to policy. That comes with the territory. But in Mr. Trump’s case, he takes it a step further and demonizes his predecessors to fuel a perception that only he has the ability to grasp the complex nuances of the office.

We speak of living in a civil society, but how is that possible when the person who is responsible for setting the tone and tenor of that conversation has no concept of what being civil means?

Mr. Trump wants us to believe he can and will be a great president, one who works for the greater good of the country. If that occurs, so be it. But until Mr. Trump learns to be a great and good person who respects precedent and learns to refrain from undermining the words and works of those who served before him, he will never earn the level of deference associated with his office—nor should he.

DAN BABUSCIO

Monroeville

America is blessed with extraordinary energy abundance, including more than 250 years worth of beautiful clean coal. We have ended the war on coal, and will continue to work to promote American energy dominance!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2018

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