To the editor:

Mona Charen is someone I agree with most of the time. However, the term “fascism” is a little on the mild side for the Fifth Avenue Blob. In the 1930s Frances Perkins and Hugh Johnson crafted much New Deal legislation using Benito Mussolini’s corporate state as a model.

Donald Trump incorporated racial identity and class warfare into his spiel. He took it upon himself to lay tariffs and sanctions. And he also took it upon himself to order state officials, as well as the houses of Congress to perform acts to keep himself in office. These actions are a sign of National Socialist attitude although I would not accuse him of espousing that philosophy because that would have the impact of saying he has the ability to form a philosophy. I am still unsure of who wrote his papers and took his tests in college.

Also, if we had a president whose loyalty was to the republic rather than to a “base” that would keep him in an office that boosts his self-esteem, the U.S. Marine barracks is located within a quick marching distance from the Capitol.

Earl Haehl,

Lawrence