Trump assessed by ‘those who have seen him up close’ 

Letter to the editor:

As The New York Times put it, “For those Americans who are still tempted to return him to the presidency or to not vote in November, it is worth considering the assessment of Mr. Trump by those who have seen him up close.”

Here, then, a selection of testimony and evidence from:

91 people who served with the nominee when he was president:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/09/26/opinion/donald-trump-personality-history.html

741 National security leaders, comprised of over 320 general and flag officers, including 15 retired four-star generals and admirals, 10 cabinet secretaries, 10 service secretaries, and 148 ambassadors:

https://www.nsl4a.org/nsl4a-announcements/nsl4a-endorsement-harris

111 Republican officials:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/us/politics/republican-officials-harris-endorsement.html

John D. Miller, former chief marketer for NBC, on marketing “The Apprentice”:

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2024-10-16/we-created-a-tv-illusion-for-the-apprentice-but-the-real-trump-threatens-america

Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/17/trump-mcconnell-jan-6-capitol/

Retired Army general Stanley H. McChrystal:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/opinion/kamala-harris-president.html

Retired Army general and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Milley:

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/10/the-generals-warning/680279/

Retired Marine General and former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/02/politics/john-kelly-donald-trump-us-service-members-veterans/index.html

As for the Republican nominee’s economic intentions:

16 Nobel laureates in Economics:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24777566-nobel-letter-final

A study comparing which of the two major candidate’s economic plans will add more to the national debt:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/10/07/trump-harris-national-debt/

On the Republican nominee’s assessment that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “much better” than the Medal of Honor, VFW National Commander Al Lipphart:

https://www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2024/8/vfw-admonishes-former-president-for-medal-of-honor-remarks

Before rationalizing or dismissing these appraisals, ask yourself this: Are all of the people who offer them wrong, unfair, or even dishonest in their assessments of the Republican nominee and the threat he poses to the United States? All of them? All of them?? All of them???

John H. Callan

Fort Atkinson