To the Editor:
I voted for Joe Biden, but I’d like to see President Biden pardon Donald Trump as one of his first acts. I don’t say this because I think Mr. Trump deserves a pardon. A trial is a distraction we don’t need at a time when Congress should be focused on ending the virus and helping keep people afloat financially. As a practical matter, the Senate isn’t going to convict Donald Trump anyway, and a trial only exacerbates the division that already exists between the parties.
A pardon demonstrates that Joe Biden will be running the country, not Nancy Pelosi. A pardon connotes that Donald Trump is guilty. A pardon shows that politics takes a back seat to what’s good for the country.
Pardon Mr. Trump, and let’s move forward as one country with Mr. Trump in the rear view mirror.
George Thompson
Sanibel, Fla.
To the Editor:
Many Republicans are reluctant to convict President Trump, a reluctance they did not show when dealing with the much less consequential sins of President Bill Clinton. (Imagine that, a president lying merely about sex!)
The purpose of the current impeachment effort is to deter future demagogues of any stripe. After all, the next con man could just as easily come from the left end of the political spectrum. Impeachment is therefore a form of vaccination against the viruses of mendacity, narcissism and authoritarianism, no matter their provenance.
When Senator Susan Collins remarked that she hoped Mr. Trump had learned his lesson after the first impeachment, she was right, but in the wrong way. He learned that one can get away with endless lying.
Manfred Weidhorn
Fair Lawn, N.J.
To the Editor:
President Trump’s impeachment is nothing but a political power struggle between Democrats and Republicans. Even after winning the White House, Democrats are insatiable. They want to have their cake and eat it too, and won’t be happy until they give Mr. Trump the boot. Never mind that it will cause more divisiveness and unrest.
But this is not the way to begin a new year and new presidential administration. And certainly not the way to heal a fractured nation.
JoAnn Lee Frank
Clearwater, Fla.