To the editor:

Convicted sex offender and twice-impeached President Donald Trump has finally delivered a message we voters can all get behind: “Pretend I’m on the ballot.” Indeed! If shivers run up your spine when you hear that, if your wallet is thin, your gas tank is thirsty, your freezer is empty; if your fields are unfertilized, your wheat hasn’t sold, your ground beef is marked as Argentinian and Brazilian; if your neighbors and butchers and roofers fear leaving their homes or have been swept up by masked agents; if you are wondering whether you will have health care, a guaranteed retirement and an affordable place to live; if you worry about your children and all children and whether they will have educational experiences that will provide them lifelong opportunities; if you are worried about the fate of women — your spouse, partner, daughters, nieces, your favorite waiter, your minister, your legislator, your dentist and nurse and doctor; and if you yearn for a Congress that embraces its constitutional duties, heed the call: Vote like Donald Trump is on the ballot. He is, and we have all been warned.

Margaret Severson,

Lawrence