To the editor: No debate between President Biden and former President Trump should occur. One man is president of the country; the other is under multiple criminal indictments. (“Biden, Trump agree to debates: June 27 on CNN, Sept. 10 on ABC,” May 15)
In a court of law, Trump stands innocent until proven guilty. But he gets no such pass in the political arena, where he stands convicted of insurrection along with the likes of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee.
To see Trump standing next to Biden fosters a sense of equivalence between the two men, when there is none. Everyone knows what happened on Jan. 6, 2021: Trump stoked an angry crowd to stop the electoral college ballot count that would make Biden’s victory official. Insurrectionists don’t get do-overs, nor do they get a chance to debate the winners.
Should we have given Bernard Madoff airtime to justify how he defrauded billions from investors? He was a criminal who did not deserve our attention or respect.
Trump also does not deserve our attention or embrace. He sought to install mob rule over the rule of law. He attempted to elevate himself as an unchallengeable leader. He tried to kill our nation, and for that reason we should shun him or, better, imprison him if he is found guilty.
Trump has no place on a dais next to the legitimate president of the United States.
J. Michael Atherton, Dover, N.H.
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To the editor: Before agreeing to debate, Biden should have insisted on one condition — that Trump publicly admit he lost a fair election in 2020. By failing to do so, Biden is normalizing seditious behavior.
Kelly Gallagher, Santa Ana
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To the editor: In order to prevent this year’s presidential debates from being utterly unwatchable and infuriating, as they have been recently, the networks need to have microphone control.
They should turn a candidate’s microphone on only when it is his turn to speak and turn it off immediately afterward. This would prevent interruptions and the generally disorderly conduct we have seen in previous debates.
Linda Garris, Marina del Rey
