Letter to the Editor, Feb. 8, 2020: Reader supports Moulton's walkout

Editor, Times-Dispatch:

For me, the pivotal moment at the State of the Union address wasn’t House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tearing up a copy of President Donald Trump’s speech (as amusing at that was) but rather the walkout by Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a decorated Marine combat officer who led some of the first troops into the war in Iraq.

Moulton explained that he is disgusted by Trump’s disrespect for the military, starting with Trump’s draft dodging during Vietnam, followed by his mocking of war hero Sen. John McCain, up to his recent dismissal of the traumatic brain injuries suffered by our troops (still in Iraq) as being mere “headaches.”

It seems to me that a president has three basic jobs: defend the Constitution; respect the military and use it sparingly; and govern in the interests of all the people of the nation. Trump has failed at all three, with his worst offense not being his bribe attempts to smear former Vice President Joe Biden, but rather his disregard for the interests and ideals of half the nation. Trump governs as if only people who support him deserve his attention.

For me, that is familiar. I have worked many years in developing nations where that is precisely how corrupt politicians operate. Republican politicians who have donned the cloak of Trumpism have sold their souls to a man who has none. Trump supporters can troll liberals as much as they want, but they will eventually reap what they sow: moral bankruptcy and a destroyed democracy.

Michael Keating.

Richmond.