I have noticed a number of letters recently standing up for President Donald Trump and decrying the "left's propaganda circus," as one recently put it. Even though I don't agree, I appreciate these people writing letters outlining their views.
The problem I see is that if anyone or anything says something against Mr. Trump, they are labelled by him as stating lies, falsehoods or fake news. When the FBI said Russia tried to influence our election, he said the FBI was out to get him and spreading fake news. Now, everyone agrees, including him, that the threat from Russia is and was real.
So who is the arbiter of what is real or false? Is Mr. Trump the only person or entity who can be trusted and everyone disagreeing with him cannot? This is what he keeps saying, day in and day out. I don't think so. Aren't there facts out there that can be analyzed with reason (like Russia meddling), rather than just repeated assertions by Mr. Trump about witch hunts and fake news. Of course there are real facts, and he does not have a lock on what is or is not a fact.
It seems that Mr. Trump personally defines what is real and what is not for a lot of people — or at least he tries to. And that is not good. No person, president or not, is all-knowing. Everyone has a responsibility to base their opinion on facts that have been or can be validated as true.
— Tim Samuelson
Anchorage
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