You Can't Just Make Stuff Up.

President Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington DC  20500

9 March 2017

 Dear President  Trump,  

When I was in high school I got involved in my freshman year in the high school debate team.  Now I am a 50 year old man but the lessons that I learned on the debate team still stick with me.  It was one of the ost valuable experiences I ever had. 

One of the things I learned early on is that, if you are going to make an argument, you owe it to those who will argue against you to present evidence to support your points.   No matter how much you may dislike the other team, if you wish to win over the judge, you need to provide evidence to prove your points against them.  If you do not do so, you cannot win those particular points, and, most likely, if you do not win those particular points, you lose the debate.   

I realize that, since coming to office, you have made several accusations, among them that President Obama tapped your phone lines, that the crowds at your inauguration were larger than reported, and that no one in your campaign spoke with the Russians during the campaign.  I also realize that there seem to be many people in the United States who are willing to accept what you say without requiring that you show evidence. These people, however, are not in the majority.  In fact, they are nowhere close. 

 According to the non-partisan Gallup Approval Rating Poll, you are, as of today, at a 41% approval rating.  If you look at the average approval ratings of the last 9 presidents in the March following their inaugurations, the next closest to you is Bill Clinton, who still averaged 10 points higher than you.  In fact, Barak Obama, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, John Kennedy, and Dwight Eisenhower all averaged over 30 points higher in March than you are.  I do not say this to make you feel bad but to underscore the importance of gaining the trust of the American people.  You will only be able to do that by being straight with us, and that means not making assertions without providing evidence to back them up. 

Sir, the American people are not stupid.  Please show us the respect we are due.

 

Regards,

 

William Boerman-Cornell