Letter: Two sides of the 45th president of the United States

Democrats are unmerciful. The Mueller report found no collusion with the Russians, so now Democrats in Congress want President Donald Trump’s tax returns, and Democrats in Albany pass a bill to allow state charges against a U.S. president and associates who are accused of federal crimes and receive presidential pardons [“State action targets presidential pardons,” News, May 22].

How about questioning whom Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pardons?

I feel that Democrats are acting like a bunch of sore losers after the 2016 election. Stop, already, and let the president do his job.

Virginia Schnappauf,

  Ridge

President Donald Trump calls himself “the most transparent president probably in the history of this country,” but he has a funny way of showing this.

He paid $160,000 to keep Stormy Daniels quiet. He would not speak to Robert Mueller (the take-home test doesn’t count). He removed the White House guest book from public view. He doesn’t like people taking notes in meetings with him. He has meetings without the White House stenographer recording them. He has cut back on media briefings, which had been the primary means of relaying what the president does on a daily basis. He sometimes won’t speak to media he believes are liberal.

He denied public access to his tax returns on the basis that he was under audit, though that is not a barrier to releasing them.

Can you imagine if he were a secretive man? He would be like the Wizard of Oz hiding behind a curtain. And the voice we would hear would probably belong to Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

Robert Broder,

  Stony Brook

Democrats have not been able to summon the courage to effectively oppose and hold President Donald Trump accountable for his egregious grabs for power.

His offending conduct, however, transcends the political and, to the extent that it poses an existential threat to our nation and its fundamental institutions and conventions, it spills over into the realm of morality. Morality is the bailiwick of our religious institutions. Their leaders of all stripes have been shamefully silent in the face of the Trump onslaught. They need to aggressively voice their opposition in the media.

The Republican Party is heavily dependent on the support of religious people, especially in regard to the abortion issue. Placing that support in doubt offers the best hope of reining in an increasingly imperial and dangerous president.

David G. O’Brien,

    Mount Sinai

Cuomo should sign bill to protect giraffes

The United Nations recently issued an alarming report documenting that 1 million species of wildlife are threatened with extinction, partly due to exploitation by humans. The giraffe is no exception, with fewer than 100,000 left in the wild [“U.S. considers listing giraffes as threatened,” News, April 26].

While habitat destruction and illegal hunting are primary reasons for the giraffes’ decline, the United States contributes significantly as a major consumer of giraffe parts and products. An investigation by the Humane Society of the United States in 2018 found that at least 51 dealers across the nation, including in New York, offered giraffe products online and in stores. A custom-made giraffe skin jacket, a giraffe leather Bible cover and a pillow made from the face of a giraffe were among macabre objects we found.

A bill introduced by Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) and Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) recently passed the legislature in Albany. This legislation would ban the trade of parts and products made from giraffes and other vulnerable species.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has a strong record of environmental conservation leadership. The Humane Society encourages him to sign this measure into law, making New York a worldwide leader in protecting giraffes from exploitation for commercial trade.

Brian Shapiro,

  Manhattan

Editor’s note: The writer is New York senior state director for the Humane Society of the United States.

Baffled by charges against hoops coach

The May 21 news story “Cops: Coach punched boy during clinic” included a photo of Cheikh Khadim Ndiaye, an intramural basketball coach at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Center in Greenvale.

I know Khadim, and I am baffled by the contrast between the man I know and the accusation that he punched a boy during a game.

At the center, I often watched Khadim coach kids on basketball. He is hardworking, popular and kind. His trainees and their parents apparently like Khadim, as demonstrated by the numbers of kids signing up to be coached by him. Among other accomplishments, he played basketball at St. John’s University and Christ the King High School in Queens.

I find it hard to believe that Khadim would hurt a kid. More facts are needed to clarify what happened. The consequences for Khadim and the JCC are destructive.

Martha Schweitzer,

  Port Washington