After reading Leonard Pitts Jr.’s column (May 12), I felt compelled to offer my opinion. I am a Democrat. I vote for very few Republicans, and I definitely didn’t vote for Donald Trump. I agree with all of the points made in the Pitts’ piece, but I am extremely disappointed with his pejorative tone.

Three times in his column, Pitts refers to Trump as “Mr. So-Called President.” That is not helpful to the very important conversation the nation is having about this controversial president. During the Obama administration, we Democrats were constantly enraged by similar talk from the right, the purpose of which was to delegitimize President Obama.

What is it about Trump that makes him “Mr. So-Called President,” rather than “Mr. President”? He may be a bad president, but he won the Electoral College. He is the president.

Name-calling is what he does. We need to be the grown-ups in the room. All of the points Pitts makes are accurate, in my opinion. But by deleting “So-Called” from his column, his points retain their accuracy and attain a grown-up tone.

I would encourage pundits, letter writers, columnists, the president and all citizens to lift the level of political discourse. It is difficult to have a constructive dialogue when we start the conversation with such a negative tone.

Shaun Riggs, Farmington


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: