Trump’s enablers are on the ballot Nov. 3

Fishkill, N.Y.: President Trump could not have done all this damage by himself! He had enabling, do-nothing, potted-plant congressional Republicans who championed his disastrous ideas or who buried their embarrassment with inexcusable “I didn’t really think he would do that” explanations. Either way, they are all culpable for the mess Trump has made of our economy, of our national security, of our standing in the world, of our justice system and of our health.

New Yorkers can not do anything about all the cheating that Trump’s gang has used in other states, like mid-decade gerrymandering or attempts to destroy mail-in voting options, but we don’t have to put up with it here. No New York Republican potted plant deserves to be elected to represent this great state. We need more leaders with principles, not more vegetation.

The GOP is running Rep. Mike Lawler in the 17th congressional district and challenger Jackie Auringer in the 18th. But we have the opportunity instead to elect two West Point graduates, Army officers and combat veterans to represent the Mid-Hudson Valley. “Duty, honor, country” is not just a slogan to them. It is their core belief. Cait Conley and Rep. Pat Ryan are the perfect duo to represent the Mid-Hudson Valley.

Potted plants like Lawler and Auringer belong in greenhouses, not in Congress. New Yorkers deserve real leaders, and we have an opportunity to choose them on Nov. 3.

Gerald Browne

Kissing the ring

Howard Beach: First, Trump agrees to buy diesel oil from Russia, enabling them to have the money to continue their war with Ukraine. Now, Trump has put a hold on the order he signed to put additional sanctions on Russia. Either Vladimir Putin has something on Trump or Trump benefits personally by appeasing Putin. Whatever the case, Trump will do whatever is necessary to appease Putin.

Barbara Berg

Unilateral undermining

Greenburgh, N.Y.: Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. has spent more than $195 billion to help the Ukrainian people preserve their democracy and freedoms and stay an independent nation. Why is Trump able to get away with switching sides? Shouldn’t every member of Congress take steps to prevent the president from helping Russia win the war? The president should not be able to take unilateral steps to defeat democracy.

Paul Feiner

Always opposite

Mahopac, N.Y.: There’s what Trump says, then there’s the truth.

Jim Holdridge

Press pressure

Tamarac, Fla.: It’s rather sad to watch the press brutally attack its subjects, but I guess that’s what they’re paid to do. More attacks, more publicity! Hired and then fired White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia didn’t pass her bar exam. That others were led to believe she did immediately ripped away her credibility as a person about to fulfill the tough role of press secretary. She was never hired as a lawyer, of course, but as the primary spokesperson, media liaison and myriad other tasks for the president and his entire administration. She might have done a superior job, but under the scrutiny, the circumstances and her stumbled delivery at the debut press conference, no one will ever get the chance to find out. In all probability, she wasn’t cut out for the role, but if we remember anything about this occurrence, it’ll be the brutality of the press that covered her.

Roberta Chaleff

Mercurial manager

East Meadow, L.I.: Scott Jennings was rumored to become the White House spokesperson, but again, Trump doesn’t take advice.

Jeff Tuck

Timeless presence

Waitsfield, Vt.: I hope the carriage drivers in NYC lawyer up to stop this ban of carriage driving. To eliminate the jobs of honest, working horse people for the sake of a real estate deal is just wrong. Taking horses out of the city is mean and uncalled for. Horses built this country and should be protected, as they are actually bringing peace and the natural world to the city. Children and people of all ages soften when they can see or pat a horse. Let’s continue to offer NYC horses as a living testament to this commitment. A better answer would be to provide stabling in Central Park, which was built for carriage driving in the first place.

Meg Hilly

Target the dangers

Sayville, L.I.: To Voicer S. Bowen: Kudos for suggesting landmark status for the Central Park horses’ stables with interesting historical exhibits to keep the trade going. I’m an animal lover and go into the city several times a year. When I walk Central Park with my friends, it isn’t the carriage horses that are the menace, it’s the bikers, rollerbladers, sometimes even the runners, and people with unleashed dogs. Care for the horses has been addressed, and what has emerged in the news lately with some dying are due to underground wires they sadly encounter, and poisonous plants. No one wants to see that. The carriage-horse driver who left his seat to take a photo shouldn’t have. These incidents can be addressed and corrected.

Linda Leuzzi

Personal & public good

Belmont, Mass.: Voicer Heather Moore deftly tied the horrors of animal slaughter for food to Halloween. She also warned that witnessing the slaughter would yield nightmares. Finally, she advised the scariest remedy of all: going vegan. As a six-year vegan, I can assure you that it’s neither scary nor Halloween-worthy. But years after enjoying its health benefits, I was pleased to learn that it stands as the single most effective way for an individual to confront not only the onslaught of animal slaughter but climate change as well.

Chris Nunes

Scholastic remedy

Flushing: Cornell University is striving to address the unrest on campus that has followed the university’s response to a charge of sexual assault in October 2024 by seven men in a fraternity made by a former student identified as Jane Doe. A university panel expelled two men and gave lighter punishments to the others. None of the men were charged with a crime. All of them denied wrongdoing. Gov. Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James to investigate the allegations. Cornell appointed a former acting U.S. attorney general to lead an independent internal review of the school’s response. Following her stressful experience, Jane Doe dropped out of Cornell. The school can offer her a renewable, full scholarship to enable her to either return or transfer to another university, which would demonstrate compassion. A more mature Jane Doe would develop new interests, explore new fields of knowledge and meet new people.

Theodore Sheskin

Boro blunder

New Rochelle, N.Y.: Re “Recent Bronx shooting raises student safety concerns with ICE” (Oct. 18): Once again, you managed to mislocate the scene of this near-tragedy. It did not occur on Marble Hill Ave. near W. 225th St. in the Bronx neighborhood of Marble Hill. It occurred on W. 225th St. near Marble Hill Ave. in the Manhattan neighborhood of Marble Hill. Is this a distinction without a difference? I think not. If you can’t get simple, easily verifiable facts right, can we trust the rest of the story, which relies on human interpretation?

Richard Rodrigue