PUTTY

March 21, 2018

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher,

101 Main Street #380

Huntington Beach, CA 92648

Dear Congressman,

Re: Putty

I looked at the picture of Trump on the front page of the New York Times today and the word that came to mind was “putty”. As in “putty in the hands of…” Of almost anyone who gets his number and plays to his ego.

This particular picture shows Trump with the Saudi delegation, led by the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, with whom he appears to have established one of his celebrated bromances. The president is displaying a poster with images of the warplanes he’s selling to his visitors. He looks for all the world like a boastful little boy. The prince smiles indulgently.

This comes with news of his congratulatory call to Russian president Putin. Putin/putty… The Russian president is infinitely smart, sly, manipulative. Our president is putty. Well, Silly Putty, really. He allows himself to slip into the mold of whatever the occasion calls for, whatever the stronger person wants him to be. Whatever, it often seems, the last person he happened to speak to wants him to be.

Can you live with this? How much longer will you stand by, without a single word of criticism or rebuke?

Without, honestly, much respect this morning,

Peter Clothier, Ph.D.