Letter to the editor: Trump divides America

Letter reprinted from Brunswick Beacon, 09.25.25

After Charlie Kirk’s heinous murder, President Bush said, “Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square. Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens.”

Trump ignored Bush and blamed Democrats: “We have radical left lunatics out there and we just have to beat the hell out of them.” Trump uses “radical left” and “Democrat” interchangeably: since Kirk’s murder, Trump called the New York Times “a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party.” Trump advisor Stephen Miller called Democrats “a domestic extremist organization.”

Trump calls Democrats “scum,” adding, “these are sick people. These are really deranged people.” When Fox & Friends’ Ainsley Earhardt said, “We have radicals on the right as well. How do we fix this country?” Trump replied, “I’ll tell you something that’s gonna get me in trouble but I couldn’t care less. The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious, and they’re horrible.”

That’s not true. Google The CATO Institute’s Sept. 11, 2025 report, “Politically Motivated Violence Is Rare in the United States.” It reports that, since 1975, right-wing radicals have committed six times as many political killings as left-wing radicals.

While Trump said, “violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree,” he is using Kirk’s murder to demonize Democrats. Trump’s Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, said, “Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us.”

Trump renamed “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” and “Department of Defense” to “Department of War.” He seems intent on renaming his office “President of half the Divided States of America” and changing the presidential seal to a bald eagle with only one wing. Trump is crippling America.

Rich Cooper

Leland