In the column, "Is Donald Trump Right?", Fulcrum Executive Editor, Hugo Balta, wrote:
For millions of Americans, President Trump’s second term isn’t a threat to democracy—it’s the fulfillment of a promise they believe was long overdue.
Is Donald Trump right?
Should the presidency serve as a force for disruption or a safeguard of preservation?
Balta invited readers to share their thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
Brenda Marinace from Maryland shared these thoughts...
I found this article disappointing. The Fulcrum standards aim to expand their reach, remove personal bias, avoid vilifying any party, and build bridges through a solutions-based approach.
This article seems more like a challenge than an honest request. I cannot imagine any Republican even reading the Fulcrum, much less responding to your challenge. It appears to dismiss the 77 million Americans, presuming them to be wrong and defying them to come up with support for President Trump. It’s not inviting at all.
I have spent years working toward returning respect across the country, imploring our legislators to lead the way as self-serving rhetoric only builds anger and violence and enables retribution. The Fulcrum has published several of my articles. Without respect, without open dialogue, we cannot bridge build.
Please accept that others have a right to their beliefs as well. My career was in protecting Florida’s unique environment. We could have hated and vilified those paving our lands. Instead, we chose inclusion. Civil engineers helped develop wetland protection. Developers helped ID sensitive areas, thus freeing others for development. Our government included us in land use planning. In fact, Elliott Mackle of the famed Mackle Brothers, who developed several cities in Florida, was once elected our President. We respected each other, and Floridians benefited from it.
I will not take the bait regarding whether President Trump is right. I do not know, and neither do you. That’s the point. How about honestly interviewing and presenting unbiased viewpoints? Making him the enemy, making 77 million Americans the enemy, humiliating or excoriating him and them is not inclusive. My Republican friends want democracy saved as well, and some believe Democrats are the problem. I fear your mindset will not permit other such viewpoints, however.
You included many reasons why you feel the way you do. I, too, am a granddaughter of an immigrant who raised me. Of my six married grandchildren, five are married to recent immigrants from various countries. I was also a columnist for a major newspaper, with columns in five or six other fourth estate venues. My husband was a New Yorker, and we lived in the Chicago area for 10 years recently, with a daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter still living there.
We desperately need respect returned. As I wrote this, I glanced up to see a brawl break out among some National League football players. The lack of respect, sportsmanship, is so overwhelming.
Please help the Fulcrum lead the way to understanding and grace.
We invite you to read the opinions of other Fulrum Readers who accepted Hugo's invitation.
An Independent Voter's Perspective on Current Political Divides
Trump's Policies: A Threat to Farmers and American Values
The Trump Era: A Bitter Pill for American Renewal
Federal Hill's Warning: A Baltimorean's Reflection on Leadership
Also, check out "Is Donald Trump Right?" and consider sharing your thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
The Fulcrum will select a range of submissions to share with readers as part of our ongoing civic dialogue.
We offer this platform for discussion and debate.
Americans across the political spectrum have continued to ask about the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s connections among the political elite. (Angela Weiss/AFP)
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
McConnell and Platner both feel entitled
The two men could not be more different. One, a Republican, octogenarian, seven-term Southern senator, the other a progressive, millennial Maine oysterman who’s never spent a day in elected office.
But Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky who’s been MIA for the past few weeks and Graham Platner, the Maine Senate candidate who’s facing calls to drop out of his race against Sen. Susan Collins, apparently do have something in common: an outsized sense of entitlement.
McConnell, who is 84 and not running for reelection, has been hospitalized for three weeks, and yet we still don’t fully know what he was admitted for or what his condition is. Per CNN, “his office has not disclosed a medical reason for the hospitalization or provided specifics on his health status beyond saying last week that he ‘continues to improve’ and ‘is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters.’ ”
While several legislators have said they’ve talked to him and insist he sounds strong, others have said they are completely in the dark. One MAGA influencer, Laura Loomer, posted ”High level source close to the White House tells me ‘Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He’s not coming back.’ ”
Meanwhile, up in Maine, Platner has been artfully dodging calls from his own party to drop out of his race after several allegations of misconduct from women, including a sexual assault allegation from a former girlfriend, came to light. While Platner, who has managed to survive a Nazi-tattoo scandal, a sexting scandal, and several old tweets scandals, denies the allegations, he has not quit.
High-profile Democrats including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Chuck Schumer, the latter of whom had unsuccessfully hand-selected Maine Gov. Janet Mills to face Collins instead of Platner, have urged Platner to drop out, while other Dems have accused him of trying to influence the picking of his replacement.
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a statement Tuesday, which said in part:
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate nor in determining what this process looks like.”
Both incidents show a deep lack of accountability to voters, who in one case deserve to know whether their senator is capable of performing his duties, and in another deserve a candidate who isn’t being accused of crimes, bigotry and deception.
The offensive and odious entitlement of both McConnell and Platner stands out not because it is particularly unique among today’s political class. Tom Kean, the New Jersey GOP congressman, missed more than 100 votes, only sharing after a three-month mystery absence that he was dealing with depression.
Former President Joe Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin failed to disclose a hospitalization for prostate cancer surgery, flouting the established rules for Cabinet members and senior U.S. officials.
From Biden’s insistence on running for reelection despite his obvious cognitive and political weaknesses to Trump’s brazen flouting of laws and norms, few politicians seem to appreciate that their public service job comes with responsibilities to constituents, including transparency and honesty.
But both parties increasingly justify the chicanery, because the stakes of winning elections and keeping power are simply too high. But that’s no excuse. If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, it’s that character and accountability do, in fact, matter. And when we, the voters, stop caring about it, well, so do they.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.