To the editor:

As a car rounded the intersection at a recent local protest, a woman leaned out of the passenger side window and shouted, “Trump is getting it done!” I could only nod my head in affirmation; Yes, Trump is getting done. So far, he has:

¯ Punished people for exercising the first Amendment right of free speech to criticize government policy.

¯ Deported people to a foreign prison without providing fifth and 14th Amendment guarantee of due process.

¯ Impounded funds appropriated by Congress, violating Congress’s constitutional authority to tax and spend.

¯ Dismantled agencies created and funded by Congress, without the approval of Congress.

¯ Practiced corruption on an unprecedented scale: Sold access at a White House dinner to the biggest buyers of his Trump meme coin; and received six- and seven-figure campaign donations, closely followed by pardons of the donors or their associates. This has negated approximately $1.3 billion in fines and restitution for victims.

¯ Increased his wealth by 75%, or $3 billion in the year since the election. How would a president do that legitimately?

¯ Coerced people to self deport by threatening them with deportation to El Salvador or an African country, without due process.

¯ Conducted extrajudicial killings, in international waters, of unidentified suspected drug smugglers.

¯ Extorted private universities, major media companies, law firms and businesses to comply with his policies.

¯ Fired hundreds of FBI agents and dozens of Justice Department prosecutors, for having any connection to the 2016 Russia investigation or the Jan. 6 Capitol riot investigation.

¯ Pardoned felons convicted of violent assault on police officers during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

¯ Under the guise of fighting crime, turned several Democrat led cities into militarized police states, while the rate of violent crime is higher in many Republican led cities.

¯ Weaponized the Justice Department to launch politically motivated investigations into political opponents.

¯ Provided massive tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, financed by cuts to education, social safety net programs, and more and more federal debt.

¯ Managed to find full funding for ICE during the government shutdown, while refusing to fund SNAP benefits, or negotiate subsidies that would mitigate huge increases in health insurance premiums.

I hope the woman who shouted “Trump is getting it done” doesn’t know what he is getting done. If she, and many others like her know and are happy about it, America is in deep trouble.

John Monroe

Saranac Lake