Letters to the editor June 1

Disrespectful

The front page of May 26 Inter Lake was so insulting and disrespectful. Who thought it was a good idea to place a story about George Floyd beside that of a fallen Vietnam veteran who is having a bridge named for him, on a holiday honoring those who gave their life for their country?

— Dona Taylor, Rexford

West Point speech

While President Trump attempts to convince us that he is a paragon of patriotic virtue and a worthy steward of our hallowed military traditions, his sordid track record on these accounts strongly suggests otherwise.

On more than one cringe-inducing occasion during his recent address to West Point graduates, Trump commented about the physical appearance of the grads, stating they “look like all a bunch of male models, I can’t stand it.” A champion of superficial values, he was seemingly ignorant of the fact that approximately 22% of the cadets were female and that looking like a male model isn’t a prerequisite to be a West Point cadet.

Taking credit where none is due, Trump told the cadets that “you’ll become officers in the greatest and most powerful army the world has ever known. And I know because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military. And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.”

Say what? In just five months, Trump claims to have personally “rebuilt” the military, the world’s largest bureaucracy? How? By what measurable standard? It is hard to imagine a more ludicrous and unsubstantiated claim unless he was referring to his appointment of a womanizing drunkard to be secretary of defense.

Among lessons of life Trump felt moved to impart to the cadets was his account of attending Manhattan a cocktail party. “Could you say a trophy wife,” he asked? “A lot of trophy wives doesn’t [sic] work out.” I could be wrong, but something tells me that the finer points of rubbing elbows with millionaires at a cocktail party and flaunting the physical charms of a “trophy wife” don’t rank high on the to-do list of the newly minted second lieutenants.

Given Trump’s history of making disparaging accounts about members of the U.S. military, it is profoundly disturbing that he has been elevated to a position where he can rewrite history to fit his own personal narrative. He proudly wore a MAGA ballcap, a divisive political symbol, during his West Point speech. In doing so, he tarnished the fundamental posture of the apolitical role of our armed forces. In Trump’s view, does loyalty to MAGA supplant his role as president and commander-in-chief of the USA?

Underscoring all these missteps is the sad truth that while Trump claims to be a great patriot, his family used every rich kid’s trick in the books to keep him from being drafted. He is a draft dodger, and the sight of him using a military salute should sicken every veteran who has served honorably.

— Mark Holston, Kalispell

Thanks, Biden

Which way is it on the far right? The president of the Montana Conservative Alliance is the latest to try both ways on Joe Biden. 

As Roger Koopman railed against other Republicans for not being far enough right, he slips in yet another dig against Biden in his opinion column. “Joe Biden … spent four years shredding the Constitution.” 

Really? I thought you guys said he was asleep and mentally unfit? Must have been a pretty powerful sleepwalk to be shredding history.

— Mark Suppelsa, Bigfork