To the Editor:

“I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” I took this oath when I entered the service to our country and, thereafter, every time I assumed a higher level of office. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would encounter a time when I would face a domestic threat to our Constitution. Then came Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Trump tried to overthrow our Constitutional processes on Jan 6, 2021. He has repeatably besmirched our brothers in arms. He has no regard for our long-standing military alliances. He has no ability to comprehend the sacred importance of protecting our classified information. He has demonstrated an incompetent knowledge of our Military’s role as a non-political arm of our democracy.

Our Brothers in Arms. Mr. Trump has no understanding of our veterans’ sacrifices to our democracy. He refused to visit the cemeteries of WWI soldiers, and said “why should I go there, they were just suckers and losers.” Sadly, when Mr Trump visited the grave of General Kelly’s son in Arlington National Cemetery, he said, “I don’t get it, what’s in it for them?” He has been quoted as saying, “I don’t want any wounded or crippled veterans in my parades, they make me look bad.” Donald Trump said the Presidential Medal Of Freedom is more of an honor than the Congressional Medal of Honor because “the recipients [of the latter] are all shot up or dead.”

Our Military Alliances. Mr. Trump has repeatably criticized our NATO alliance. He has no regard for Article 4 of the agreement, “an attack on one is an attack on all.” Trump has said, “why should we go to war for a shitty country like Moldavia.” Reminder: the only time in the 50-year alliance Article 4 was invoked was when the U.S. was attacked on Sep 11, 2001.

Classified Information. In 2008, Mr. Trump ignored the data on election interference from all branches of our intelligence community. Instead, he accepted the word of an ex-KGB operative at the G-7 in Helsinki. “I believe Vladimir Putin.” In my opinion, that comment was treason.

Classified Documents. Mr. Trump is apparently incapable of understanding the sacred responsibilities of protecting our nation’s secrets. For those of us who have been granted access to our country’s Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), his stealing SCI classified documents was an atrocious and treasonous act.

Separation of the Military from Politics. Our Democracy has survived with a strong separation of our military from political actions. We have civilian leaders in all of our military entities (Secretary of Defense and Secretaries of all Branches). The intent was to have checks and balances from rogue Secretaries or Military leaders. Mr. Trump has been quoted saying, “why can’t you Generals do what I want, like Hitler had.” Project 2025 proposes to expand the DOD role in domestic situations and further politicize the military.

The Bottom Line: A President must make rational and thoughtful decisions. This requires careful deliberation and the ability to listen to those with expertise. The President cannot act on compulsion. Donald Trump does not possess these attributes. His own former Defense Secretaries and National Security Advisers have said he is a threat to our national security. He is profoundly unfit to be Commander in Chief.

Norman E. Buss, Lt Col USAF (Ret)

Bridgton