Letters

Paula Angelone last week expressed her amusement when she reads Letters to the Editor from conservative contributors, including myself [“A Showman,” Letters, July 25]. Her driving theme is conservative exaggerations, lies, distortions and extremism that she finds “quite laughable.”

I would like to extend her mirth by agreeing with her that Donald Trump is a “showman,” arguably without peer in the world of politics. He’s a master of sophomoric superlatives, exaggerations and, at times, outright lies. Simply put, he’s also a politician, so it’s endemic.

Now, let’s review some notable Democrat politicians’ blatant lies that were proved to be untrue:

Joe Biden often claimed he marched with the civil rights movement, sometimes implying he was arrested in the act. Hillary Clinton “misremembered” claiming to be under sniper attack while on the tarmac in Bosnia. Senator Robert Blumenthal “misspoke” when he claimed to have served in Vietnam.

Barack Obama’s lie of the decade claimed, “If you like your health plan, you can keep it … you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” This was a well-documented promise that was impossible to keep.

This does not excuse Trump’s lack of verisimilitude; it comes with the territory. What cannot be refuted as exaggerations are facts on the economy, immigration, NATO and self-defense.

The average inflation under Trump’s four years was 1.9 percent, calculated with the seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index. Under Biden, inflation peaked in 2022 at 9.9 percent. Presently, his average is 5.7 percent.

Under Biden, adjusted for inflation, the S&P 500 is up 17 percent. By comparison, during Trump’s term, it was up 54 percent. Similarly, after inflation, the Nasdaq 100 under Biden is up 22 percent, less than one-sixth the 140 percent rise during the Trump years. Because of inflation, net wages have decreased by 5 percent with Biden.

Immigration policy under Biden is an abject failure. The mess on our border was delegated to Kamala Harris to bring under control. According to Statista, the number of U.S. Border Patrol apprehensions and expulsions under Trump in 2016 were 415,816, and 405,036 for 2020. This amounts to a disgraceful 5.46-fold increase since Biden took office and Harris was handed the reins.

Most NATO nations have miraculously found the resources to pay their 2 percent contribution toward their own mutual self-defense instead of relying on U.S. largess. Trump sent them that wakeup call loud and clear that it was time for them to step up and pay up. Under Biden, we are now threatened by wars on multiple fronts. Trump worked to remove us from a 20-year quagmire in Afghanistan.

Ms. Angelone, which statements above are false, extremist and amusing to you?

John Porta

Westhampton