Local opinion: Donald Trump is unfit to serve as President

With all the turmoil going on in our government and the war between Israel and Hamas, a number of reprehensible and inflammatory remarks from former President Trump made few waves in the media. However, these recent comments are so disturbing and disgraceful they need to be scrutinized in much greater detail.

On Sept. 23, Donald Trump accused recently retired General Mark Milley, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of committing a “treasonous act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH (Trump’s majuscules).” Soon thereafter, Trump took a mean-spirited swipe at Paul Pelosi, who was brutally assaulted during a home invasion, and he advocated for shooting shoplifters in the store. Worse yet, on Oct. 3, he unleashed a despicable, xenophobic rant against immigrants, claiming that “it’s poisoning the blood of our country.”

It is horrifying that a person with such unhinged, racist sentiments is the leading Republican candidate for president and equally disgusting that so few of his fellow party members have said anything about it. Worse still, Trump’s incendiary words are a direct reference to Adolph Hitler’s writings in “Mein Kampf,” where he blames the decline of the Aryan (German) race on the sin of blood poisoning by an inferior race. These words are overtly racist and appeal only to the lowest levels of our society.

While Donald Trump was unloading these tirades, his former White House Chief of Staff General John Kelly, a Gold Star parent, went on the record to confirm the derogatory, unforgivable remarks Trump made about U.S. servicemen. servicewomen and veterans. While visiting Arlington National Cemetery, he stated to Kelly, “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” Later, Trump called John McCain and former President George W. H. Bush “losers,” evidently because they were shot down while fighting for our country.

Kelly also confirmed that Trump refused to visit an American cemetery near Paris, France, because ”’it’s filled with “losers.’” Trump also stated the U.S. Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Woods in France were “suckers.” (Remember, he was talking to General Kelly, who lost a son who was serving in Iraq!) He then talked disparagingly about wounded veterans. “I don’t want any wounded guys in the parade,” said the one-time Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. “It doesn’t look good for me.” Donald Trump almost never thinks about anyone but himself. Instead of recognizing the personal sacrifice of the Kelly family and thanking the general for his service, Trump concerns himself with photo optics. This level of narcissism is nearly impossible to imagine and certainly unacceptable from a presidential candidate.

On a personal note, my father and all three of his brothers served in in U.S. Armed Forces in World War II. The eldest brother Paul was killed in North Africa in 1943. That makes him a “sucker” in Trump’s estimation but a fallen hero to any sane American.

On Nov. 11, Donald Trump pledged to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.” Once again, he is echoing the words of Hitler and the racist leaders of the Third Reich. And by using this hateful rhetoric on a special day to honor our veterans, many of whom fought and died to defeat the Nazis, Trump has utterly disgraced himself while dishonoring the memory of our heroes.

Donald Trump has made outrageous and unforgivable comments on so many occasions that they are often ignored by a public that has been inundated with controversy and political uproar. However, his abhorrent, appalling comments on immigrants, our service men and women, veterans and wounded heroes must not be forgotten. These comments alone clearly disqualify him from ever holding public office again.