to the editor: re <u+201c> trump<u+2019>s choices on top advisers split power in 2 <u+201d> (front page, nov. 14): as the first step in the fight against trumpism, we must mobilize against the installation of stephen k. bannon as donald trump<u+2019>s chief adviser. the message needs to be that americans will never let this anti-semite and white supremacist set foot inside the white house. people across the political spectrum should be able to agree on this. jewish groups from the left and the right especially need to apply maximum pressure now. news organizations must not be allowed to normalize mr. bannon or to treat his appointment as anything but a national shame and violation. stopping mr. bannon would be an important, rallying symbolic victory. we need to make this our first red line. this man cannot serve in any administration, in any capacity, ever. david auburn new york to the editor: having seen some of the frightening appointments, both actual and prospective, made by president-elect donald trump, i believe that ronald reagan<u+2019>s prophetic words have finally been made manifest: <u+201c>government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.<u+201d> christopher wood new york to the editor: re <u+201c> trump<u+2019>s hires to reveal path for presidency <u+201d> (front page, nov. 13): you couldn<u+2019>t have paid me to vote for donald trump. but he is now our president-elect, and for the good of us all, i want him to succeed. the best thing that could happen is that mr. trump somehow does a couple of things that end up greatly helping the citizenry, and he starts feeling that he<u+2019>s finally done something in his life that<u+2019>s really good <u+2014> helping many <u+2014> and it brings about a change in his mind, a softening, a realization of the position he<u+2019>s in to do good for others. so his crass side weakens, and a kinder, more restrained and more considering side strengthens. and he helps himself as well as the country, and becomes a phoenix as president before his own eyes and ours. we all need that. joe baldino spring mount, pa. to the editor: re <u+201c> lobbyists are getting key jobs after being berated on the trail <u+201d> (front page, nov. 12): the swamp america voted to drain must be in someone else<u+2019>s backyard, because it certainly doesn<u+2019>t seem to be in washington. why else would voters choose to give control of two branches of government <u+2014> and probably a majority on the supreme court <u+2014> to the same republicans who have governed the last four years by refusing to govern. i supported hillary clinton but was frustrated that so little time, especially in the debates, was spent hammering home the message that much of what donald trump claims is wrong with america is a result of the purposeful obstructionism and stagnation of his own republican congress. now republican lobbyists can<u+2019>t wait to jump in. the swamp hasn<u+2019>t been drained; it<u+2019>s conducting business as usual. nancy erickson lawrenceville, n.j. to the editor: re <u+201c> denounce the hate, mr. trump <u+201d> (editorial, nov. 11): we applaud your calling for president-elect donald trump to speak out against acts of bigotry and violence that have arisen partly from the divisive rhetoric of his campaign. we did not vote for mr. trump, but we have heard the voices of those who did who are not racist, xenophobic or sexist but who voted for him for economic reasons or conservative social values. yet there are some who clearly did support mr. trump for those attitudes, and they are emboldened now to act on them. this must be as abhorrent to mr. trump<u+2019>s supporters who do not hold these views as it is to us. it is important now that those people also speak out with loud voices against such acts and attitudes. this must come from his supporters, who have put him in office, because their voices are the ones that carry weight with him. they cannot be written off as sore losers, as we have been. lucile burt jean lightman south wellfleet, mass. to the editor: re <u+201c> clinton blames f.b.i. director for her defeat <u+201d> (front page, nov. 13): it<u+2019>s far too simplistic to blame james b. comey or any single cause for hillary clinton<u+2019>s loss. surely, multiple factors weighed in. there was donald trump<u+2019>s willingness to go very, very low (a frightening precedent) and his relatively simple, though false, messages delivered with vast media coverage. that, combined with mrs. clinton<u+2019>s excellent but complex programs, her less than charismatic persona, and then those emails <u+2014> even before mr. comey entered the picture <u+2014> all surely contributed to her loss. helen guerrant toy berkeley, calif. to the editor: hillary clinton is correct to blame james b. comey, the f.b.i. director, for her loss, but the problem is larger and more insidious. donald trump said the election would be rigged, and he was right. the republicans suppressed voter turnout in democratic areas, gerrymandered for years in state capitals, and most troublesome, engaged in a multiyear smear and disinformation campaign against mrs. clinton and president obama. a democracy cannot exist when a large part of the voting public relies almost exclusively on information that is largely false or misleading. our future does not look bright. demetrios karis cambridge, mass. a version of this letter appears in print on november 15, 2016, on page a30 of the new york edition with the headline: shock waves a week after the vote. today's paper | subscribe
shock waves a week after the vote
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