Letters to the Editor: This will end badly for Trump. Just ask Joseph McCarthy

To the editor: The similarities between the behavior of President Trump and that of Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s should not come as a surprise since both were tutored by Roy Cohn, who preached the philosophy of never backing down, never apologizing and counter-punching all threats.

Though McCarthy achieved considerable power and notoriety by feeding off the paranoia and hysteria surrounding a purported Communist takeover of the U.S. government, his career ended early and in disgrace after he was censured by Congress.

If the Trump team had studied history, it would have discovered that promoting false narratives with the intent of enhancing personal power always ends badly.

Jonathan Kaunitz, Santa Monica

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To the editor: Jonah Goldberg nailed it in his column on Trump’s post-election team of clowns.

Trump’s disastrous presidency, his and his followers’ refusal to understand that he lost the election, and his minions’ willingness to carry out the president’s futile mission of challenging the election results bode ill for our country.

Seventy-five years ago, I witnessed the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany. In my opinion, today the United States is just as likely to become a fascist dictatorship as Germany was in the 1930s.

Carl Mariz, Irvine