Readers sound off on the party of Trump, Twitter spats and the NYPD’s women

Vancouver Island, British Columbia: Once viewed as a leader for democracy, the torch of the Statue of Liberty is about to be snuffed out. By electing a liar and conspiracy theorist who, along with his sycophants, gaslighted you so much into believing that the left is your enemy and eroded your republic to fall into unfounded conspiracies, you created chaos that resulted in an attempted coup and undermined election integrity.

Are you willing to sacrifice all the hard work and growth that you and your ancestors have accomplished? Americans and allies have fought and died for democracy in the U.S.A. and around the world to have the right to vote and have that vote counted. This is not to be taken lightly. Look at Russia, Hungary, China, North Korea and other countries where average citizens suffer under fascist, autocratic and dictatorial regimes. Vindictiveness in politics does not solve problems, it only makes things worse for everyone.

Many who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 know that you made a miscalculation and voted blue in 2020 to make it right. Now, with so many white supremacists and election deniers getting on the ballot, including those who want to give tax breaks to the rich and plan on cutting benefits like Social Security and reversing your human rights, the stakes are elevated to a 10-alarm emergency situation.

You are not turning your back on your party if you vote blue. You are choosing democracy and sending a message to Republicans that they need to start taking some leadership courses. Vote them out to help reshape the party. My American neighbors, this is not the time to be complacent or maniacal. Sandra Weames

Swarthmore, Pa.: Trump is a sore loser, to say the least. Just when you think he could no longer shock or surprise us, he tops himself. On Saturday, the former president called for the termination of the Constitution in order to overturn the 2020 election results. In Trump’s latest rant, he referred to himself wrongly as the “rightful winner” and called for his installation as president. He continued by writing, “Our great ‘Founders’ did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!” If Trump truly believes his own outrageous rhetoric, he is detached from reality. If he is knowingly and willfully spewing falsehoods that place his own personal interests above those of the country, he is unworthy of re-election. Ken Derow

Whiting, N.J.: Our former president claims he knows nothing about his racist dinner guest Nick Fuentes, and that he was just Kanye West’s plus one who he did not know. Sure, Donnie. Strangers regularly show up at the homes of former presidents unannounced and unvetted. Happens all the time. To paraphrase Stephen Colbert, who visited with Barack Obama: They knew the result of my last colonoscopy. Just more b.s. from the racist former liar-in-chief. Bill McConnell

Plainview, L.I.: Now that Elon Musk finally sees how intolerable an anti-Semite Kanye West is, might Musk finally see that Twitter’s infamous blue checkmark is not blue but actually a white checkmark merely surrounded by a circular sea of blue?! Richard Siegelman

Bloomington, Ind.: In light of the recent revelations concerning Twitter’s suppression of the contents of the Hunter Biden laptop one month before the 2020 election, I believe this quotation from the HBO miniseries “Chernobyl” seems appropriate: “To be a scientist is to be naïve. We are so focused on our search for truth, we fail to consider how few actually want us to find it. But it is always there, whether we see it or not, whether we choose to or not. The truth doesn’t care about our needs or wants, it doesn’t care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time.” Scott Thompson

The Daily News Flash

Weekdays

Catch up on the day’s top five stories every weekday afternoon.

Valhalla, N.Y.: Sadly, contemporary American electioneering has become a sort of trailer for a bad horror movie where the goal is to scare and titillate the audience into consuming the product. Like a film blurb, you get to see the most frightening and dramatic parts. The difference is that we all know (I think) that the stuff in the scary movie is not real. Unfortunately, many voters believe the content of these political ads are true and real. Though there may be, and probably is, a scintilla of truth in them, it is never the whole story and is edited by people with an agenda to elicit negativity and anger. The Republicans are particularly heinous in their use and perfection of this technique. Sadder still is that so many voters believe this crap and never take the time to vet these claims. Often, those who do just go to a “friendly” source to confirm their own biases. Frank J. Cifali

Howard Beach: Hitler, Mussolini and their like arose out of extreme right-wing politics. Now that begins again here. Everything begins with human ignorance, from which occurs blind reaction. Gradually, people lose their balance and composure. Unable to distinguish between personal agendas and objective reality, they choose violence and destruction over compromise and kindness. Only wisdom can save us. Ernest Kienzle

Brooklyn: I applaud Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell on her heartwarming and motivating speech to the Policewomen’s Endowment Association. I have been a civilian member of the NYPD for a little more than 49 years, somewhat of an oddity to some, yet because of words like hers, I stand strong. I am part of a legacy of women with the NYPD — my great-grandmother was one of the first five females hired in 1891. How we have been treated has been an annoyance at times. Yet, there are those who applaud our strength and tenacity to work alongside our male counterparts. What I have done on this job would fill a few books. I started in 1973 when policewomen were used in undercover positions and as matrons. Now, we have a strong, female leader in Sewell to help guide all of us and keep us safe. She is opening the way for those women who think they cannot. You can if you believe in yourself. Sharon Cesario

Manhattan: It’s a small world. I showed up early on Saturday for my AAA defensive driving course in the ‘burbs. Ensconced in the closed meeting room was the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra rehearsing, singing from their souls. I listened from the corridor, profoundly touched. Their smooth-as-silk chorus and tireless efforts bring hope to Ukrainians and to us all. God bless them. Susan A. Stark

Manhattan: I am writing you about demolition at 186 Lenox Ave., which is located in the Mount Morris Park Historic District between 119th St. and 120th St. I’ve reached out to both the Landmark Preservation Commission and Community Board 10 but no one has gotten back to me. Residents in the area were never notified about the demolition. As a result, a concerned resident contacted other neighbors and me there to see if we knew about it. Please kindly investigate! Laurent Delly

Brooklyn: We don’t need a rat czar to solve our rodent problems. Simply put a bounty — say, a dollar — on each dead rat. The thousands of can and bottle collectors will start exterminating and collecting rats instead. As diligent as they are, our rat problem would be solved without some bloated agency run by a “czar.“ T.C. Henry

Lakewood, N.J.: Thank you, Voicer Joe Napolitano, for addressing problems with the delivery of the Daily News. It seems to me that they just don’t care about their faithful subscribers. Our regular carrier had surgery at the end of July and just returned two weeks ago. During this time, our paper was either not delivered, delivered to a neighbor or, at times, left in the street around the corner from our house next to a sewer. We canceled our subscription. When our carrier returned, I renewed it. However, he is retiring at the end of the month. Here we go again. Also, if you can figure out how to do the crossword puzzle on your phone, please let me know! Frank Mongiello