Barbara Palitz: Give Trump a chance? He’s already screwed up so much

Re “Quit scrutinizing Trump’s every move, at least until he takes office” (Online, Dec. 8): If you have “the utmost respect for unfettered press in this country,” you should applaud the vigilance of newspapers and other media in this pre-inaugural period. In no way is Donald Trump a “lame-duck,” as you write, and in no way is the reporting speculative. Here are just a few of the concrete developments currently being reported:

▪ Cabinet appointees who are either devoid of any experience related to their jobs (like Ben Carson as head of Housing and Urban Development), or foxes chosen to guard the henhouse (Scott Pruitt, a climate-change denier to head EPA);

▪ A vindictive Trump tweet calling for cancellation of an Air Force One deal with Boeing after its CEO criticized Trump’s anti-free trade policy;

▪ Trump’s failure to attend security briefings, while somehow finding time to engage in Twitter wars with TV and Broadway personalities;

These examples aren’t exhaustive, yet they foretell both the tenor and priorities of the incoming administration and should be cause for alarm. With the prevalence of fake news of late, I am grateful for the New York Times, The Bee, Washington Post and all legitimate news outlets that report these critical stories accurately.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Barbara Palitz: Give Trump a chance? He’s already screwed up so much."