Letter: The buck stops anywhere but Trump
President Trump is the head of a political party that has traditionally stressed “personal responsibility,” especially when it comes to the poor or people experiencing personal difficulties. At the same time, he seems almost completely unable to acknowledge responsibility with regard to his own shortcomings.
The latest example involves the failure to pass health care repeal and replace. In his remarks on the day the bill failed, he pointed solely to the Democrats. Days later, it was the Democrats, the Freedom Caucus, the Club for Growth and (indirectly) Speaker Paul Ryan.
For five and half years, Mr. Trump promoted a lie about Barack Obama not being born in this country. In the middle of the presidential campaign, he finally conceded that Obama was indeed born here, without an apology to the sitting president. He triumphantly declared. “I finished it!”
When national security Advisor Mike Flynn was forced out for lying to the vice president about conversations related to sanction relief with the Russians, Mr. Trump claimed that Flynn had been treated “very, very unfairly” and again pointed at the Democrats for blame.
Plain-spoken Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here.” In Mr. Trump’s case, the buck apparently stops anywhere but here.
David Feller, Richland
This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 4:12 AM with the headline "Letter: The buck stops anywhere but Trump."