LETTER: Donald Trump remains a threat to the republic

Your editorial “Harris needs to lower the rhetorical temperature” argues that Donald Trump is not a threat to democracy and that electing him won’t end the country. “That should be obvious because he was already president,” you write.

The fact that he was already president does not mean democracy is safe in his hands. Recall his last act as president was to attempt an overthrow of the government by claiming he got more votes than Joe Biden and sending a mob to the Capitol to prevent the certification of the election.

It was the free press and the court system that prevented Mr. Trump’s destruction of the will of the people. While I agree the rhetorical temperature should be lowered — by both sides — there is nothing in Mr. Trump’s behavior as president that compels the conclusion he is not a threat to democracy: just the opposite, actually.