Letter: Trump message – it’s OK to be a bully

To the Editor,

As this election season mercifully winds up, it was interesting to hear Melania Trump speak Nov. 3 in Berwyn. Part of her message was about empowering children and women, and working to prevent put downs and bullying-an admirable goal. The irony is that her husband is a textbook case of acting like a bully. His overreaction to any criticism brings out the worst in him, and even more so, the people who support him.

Short samples of a very long list:

*Megyn Kelly challenging him on his put down of women had him calling her a ‘bimbo’ and worse.

*Threats to sue the NY Times for publishing reports of his loss of $900 million dollars in 1995.

*Claims that Judge Curiel could not honestly rule on a Trump court case because of his Mexican heritage

*Attacking a Gold Star mother who lost her son to the war in Iraq as not being allowed to speak because of her Islamic faith.

The unfortunate reality is that Trump has attracted a large and loud group of people who, like their leader, feel unshackled to ‘speak their minds’ and not be inhibited by ‘political correctness’- i.e. permission to say things like ‘Lock Her Up’ and ‘Trump that B____” and worse, in a loud, obnoxious way. Just this past week, a fervent Trump supporter put a huge ‘Lock Her Up’ sign on his pickup truck and honked his way up and down High Street in downtown West Chester… kind of like a huge ape beating his chest to prove his manhood.

Trump has infected the minds of many supporters into believing that they need to go ‘down to the polls and challenge anyone they think many be trying to vote twice.’ In addition, we are an open carry state, so election day may have a significant number of Trump supporters openly carrying their AR-15’s, intimidating people who will just be trying to do their civic duty. It is an ugly image from a candidate who has brought negativity, conspiracy theories and bad behavior into the mainstream of our most cherished American institution, the right to vote.

I do not want to paint a broad brush and say that this describes all or even most of Trump’s supporters.

However, I do need to ask ‘Trumpeters’, why are you enabling such bad behavior in a candidate, and what kind of a country will we have if Trump wins? I can and do believe that the majority of Americans will reject Trump’s message of negativity, and that we will elect a competent person who can handle the job of being President.

It is truly frightening to think otherwise.

Tom Buglio

West Chester