Trump’s bizarre behavior demands more media coverage

Gene Lyon’s column last week on Donald Trump’s increasingly crazy behavior is uncompromisingly honest and long overdue. He correctly points out that the so-called mainstream press consistently refuses to adequately report on the ex-president’s bizarre, delusional behavior. 

It’s no secret that the American press is fascinated by Trump. It gives him almost as much space as it does President Joe Biden. It does not, however, spend much ink on Trump’s ever increasing psychotic behavior. What can possibly justify such journalistic cowardice? If, say, former President Barack Obama were to publicly rejoice over Nancy Pelosi’s husband being almost bludgeoned to death, or call the incumbent president a ”motherf———,” would the press fail to report his outrageous conduct? The answer to this rhetorical question should be obvious to even the most myopic defender of the Fourth Estate. 

The unwillingness of the American press to report on Trump’s meltdown is a grave disservice to the public at large, partly because many of them haven’t seen the information contained in Lyon’s article. Their ignorance of the former president’s deranged mental health will not lead to bliss, but will instead facilitate the erosion of the nation’s democratic principles. American democracy will be hard-pressed to survive without a press that is not afraid to expose a would-be emperor in all his puny nakedness

Samuel C. Small, Rosemoor

My kind of town

I was in Chicago in August, enjoying my favorite city. When I went uut for a walk on the Riverwalk, I fell. Fortunately, aside from some abrasions and scratches, I wasn’t hurt at all. But I will always remember the kindness of so many people who rushed to my aid. People offered tissue packets and bottles of water to help wash my face. Someone brought a package I dropped back to me. A young couple stopped, helped me up, and sat with me for a few minutes. Then they insisted upon walking me across the street to my hotel. Once there, they informed the desk that I might need some help. The concierge brought me a cold pack and some antiseptic wipes. Rather than dwell on my accident, I remember all of those wonderful people who stopped what they were doing to help a stranger. 

Big cities often get a bad rap, but I want everyone to know that Chicagoans were absolutely wonderful to me. I’m a Chicago girl, born and bred. I moved away 45 years ago, but the city is always in my heart. Thank you to all of those people who went out of their way and stopped to help me that day in August. Go Blackhawks!

Dr. Phyllis Fredericksen, Manchester, Missouri