Here we go. Certain Republicans, embittered at election results, engage in partisan warfare before the new governor is even inaugurated. Letter writer George Mathews (Dec. 30) castigates Janet Mills for not attending a Trump-hosted governors conference. But is there any guarantee that that shameless charlatan will keep the promises he makes? Does he even understand the concept of federalism spelled out so elegantly by James Madison and Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers?

Here’s a prediction: Just as state Republicans take credit for economic recovery — which began early in the Obama years and boosted practically every state — the president’s sycophants here will slam Mills for what is likely to be a downturn, even though Trump’s tariff war and global worries about U.S. “leadership” will share the blame.

Meanwhile, watch for more reality show drama, according to conservative columnist David Brooks: “When the indictments come down, Trump won’t play by the rules … He’ll seek to delegitimize our legal institutions. He’ll personalize every indictment, slander every prosecutor. He’ll seek to destroy the edifice of law in order to save himself.”

How should patriotic citizens react to this serial liar and philanderer? As I have said in nearly every letter, some people should divert their worshipful gaze from Fox commentators acting as if they are on the payroll of a man who, according to a former Trump staffer quoted by columnist Maureen Dowd, is the “meanest man I’ve ever met.”

Let’s make America America again.

Dave Griffiths, Mechanic Falls