Letters to the Editor: The con job is over, but Trump and his followers can’t accept reality

To the editor: Donald Trump is a con man who pulled off one of the great cons of all time when he convinced the American people to elect him president. (“Trump attacks on election falter as Biden pushes ahead on transition,” Nov. 20)

Now, he’s not getting his way. All his tweeting, tantrums, frivolous lawsuits and deranged mouthpieces cannot change the numbers: He lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden by the same electoral vote margin with which he beat Hillary Clinton in a “landslide” in 2016.

Trump does not want to do to the job of being president, which requires empathy, respect for democracy and actual hard work. But he cannot accept reality. So, like a spoiled child with a stuffed teddy bear, he is pulling apart the country in a childish rage.

Surely, all but the most deluded of Trump’s followers can now see him for what he is.

Barbara Carlton, El Cajon

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To the editor: Trump is undermining American democracy in persuading large numbers of his followers that the recent election was fraudulent. Casting doubt on our elections with no proof (and none has been shown) undermines the very foundation of our democratic republic.

I am a city councilmember in Thousand Oaks who has been in many elections in Ventura County over the years. I can testify to the integrity and meticulousness of city and county clerks who oversee elections. They are perfectionists.

We are a nation of competition. We pull for our team but accept the result of the contest, no matter how painful. I played on a Glendale High School basketball team that had a shot at the league championship, but we lost the crucial game in overtime.

What did we do? We lined up and shook hands with the winners. Trump should do the same.

Ed Jones, Thousand Oaks

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To the editor: I played the California Lottery recently because I knew I had the winning numbers. There was no way I could lose because I had a gut feeling that I had the winning numbers.

The people around me said I had the winning numbers. They said that if I did not win, it would be because the game was rigged.

Well, I didn’t win. The loss was so unfair because I believed that I would win. My friends believed that I would win.

Everyone must stop what they are doing right now while I sue the state of California and the Lottery into oblivion. I don’t want anyone to play the Lottery until California has investigated the 292.2 million excuses for the reason I lost. Who needs something like odds when you know you are going to win?

I wrote this letter because I no longer trust my Twitter account to let me tell the truth.

Michael Smith, Tarzana