On Trump's actions and behavior

This week, I learned a new word, "schadenfreude." After my son used it, I came across it in at least three publications. Schadenfreude is the feeling of glee or happiness from another’s misfortune. I don’t wish the president and especially the first lady any harm ["President: ‘Don’t be afraid of COVID,’" News, Oct. 6]. Yet, somehow, one cannot help but ponder fate. President Donald Trump’s reckless, cavalier behavior mocking former Vice President Joe Biden and others for wearing masks seems to have come back to roost. An outbreak in the White House was not only disheartening but unnecessary. The images of lawmakers and policymakers sitting close, shaking hands, hugging, all while unmasked during a pandemic, sent shivers down my spine. When he recovers (and I do pray for his recovery), just maybe he and his sycophants will take the pandemic seriously and level with the American people.

Carl Viñas,

Huntington

"You never get the truth out of a narcissist. The closest you will ever come is a story that either makes them the victim or the hero, but never the villain," writes author Shannon L. Alder. President Donald Trump’s reckless joy ride Sunday removed any sympathy his hospitalization had garnered from me and instantly replaced it with exasperation ["Trump leaves hospital for a wave," News, Oct. 5]. While more than 200,000 Americans have had to die alone in a hospital bed without their loved ones, the president put his own Secret Service in danger by forcing them into a sealed vehicle to share oxygen, while he waved to supporters lining the sidewalk outside Walter Reed medical center. As Trump boasts on camera about the vast knowledge he accrued from his firsthand experience with COVID-19, one thing remains certain to me: he failed this exam miserably.

Andrew Ginsburg,

Southport

The president, to me, has to be the most irresponsible person to occupy the office. Not only was he still infectious, but he takes his mask off upon reaching the White House after his release from Walter Reed medical center showing to me no regard for anyone around him, just like he has no regard for the American people ["President: ‘Don’t be afraid of COVID,’" News, Oct. 6]. More than 210,000 Americans are dead because of COVID-19, and the president says we shouldn’t be afraid of it. Well, I, for one, am just as afraid of his selfish actions as I am of this disease.

Michael Zisner,

Bethpage

I see President Donald Trump is dangerous. I am outraged by his arrogance and disrespect for everyone he associates with. To me, he was parading around like he’s Miss America, in a car, locked in with Secret Service men with no regard for their safety. His only concern besides himself seems to be his fans. To me, he does not think like a normal person and thinks his office is a TV show. I view him as thoughtless, selfish and think he should not be in any position where his personal needs outweigh the needs of the American people. This is the most egregious behavior I have ever seen.

Mary Rossi,

Holbrook

When asked whether the White House should have required mask wearing, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) said, "What I’ve personally witnessed going to the White House has been a multistep process with regards to mitigating and testing" ["Diagnosis puts campaign, governance in question," News, Oct. 3]. Translated, no mandated masks. President Donald Trump has notoriously eschewed masks to the point of belittling former Vice President Joe Biden’s mask use during the presidential debate. So now come the consequences. Trump and others close to him are infected. The nomination ceremony of Supreme Court hopeful Amy Coney Barrett was an outrageous White House spectacle of a crowded multitude of unmasked attendees, several of whom have contracted the coronavirus. Has administration policy changed? No transparency remains Trump’s pandemic signature.

Hank Cierski,

Port Jefferson Station

President Trump is a lionhearted warrior for whipping COVID-19. I dare anybody of softer stuff to receive such a diagnosis and be airmailed to Walter Reed medical center, where an army corps of physicians and a smorgasbord of expensive experimental treatments await. Then, to defy low-grade fever, shortness of breath, and official CDC guidelines by riding in a motorcade and waving to a throng of loyal supporters. Legendary! In fact, President Trump would never cower, hide, or isolate; he cannot be kept from popping up in our daily lives, on our Twitter feeds and television screens. On Monday, his heroics were on dramatic display as he returned to the White House to scoff at the China Virus and continue his sacred mission: organizing massive maskless rallies so we may enjoy his words and his aerosol droplets. Without question, President Trump ranks among first responders, front-line employees, soldiers, activists, and cancer survivors as the epitome of selflessness and grit.

Nathan Siegelaub,

East Meadow