Immigration is Trump’s manipulated wedge issue
Ossining, N.Y.: Voicer Angelo Vetrano repeats the tired lie that President Biden had an “open borders” policy. It goes to show that when a dictator wannabe keeps repeating a lie, the gullible start to believe it.
The truth is that the Biden administration allocated more resources to the border (photo) than Donald Trump did. They negotiated a strong immigration reform bill, working with Republicans to craft it, only to have Trump make them kill it because that would be better for him and only him. If it was an open border, the number of people being arrested and deported would be dropping. Those numbers are rising under Biden. His administration has also deported a higher percentage of illegal crossers than Trump did.
Furthermore, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris worked with countries in Central and South America, including Mexico, and they have reduced the number of people fleeing those countries by more than 30%. Those are real numbers. In recent months, encounters at the border have dropped to a three-year low due to policies Biden put in place. And as for the wall Vetrano cites, Trump was never going to construct 2,000 miles of wall, much of which would be on private lands or at impassable locations. Even if he did, it would have little or no effect on stopping illegal crossers.
One administration did the hard work to address illegal immigration and has shown results. The other just made up a cheap slogan and did nothing to reduce the numbers of people trying to cross illegally. Robert Rundbaken
Check your stats
Brooklyn: I believe that Kamala Harris won Tuesday night’s debate, but as usual, I’m left thinking about missed opportunities. When Trump mentioned 21% inflation, I wish Harris would have said, “First of all, inflation is over. Plain and simple. It’s been over for more than a year. The current inflation rate is 2.9%.” A lot of people don’t seem to realize this. Maybe that would have prompted non-believers to do some fact-checking. She also could have added: “By the way, the inflation rate has never reached 21% in our nation’s history.” Peter Magnotta
Passé appearance
Wellfleet, Mass.: Donald Trump’s debate performance left me thinking, “Paging Nurse Ratched! Paging Nurse Ratched!” Trump should ditch his blue suits, white shirts and red power-ties. That 1990 look is old and tired — like Donald “I Blew the Debate” Trump. Mike Rice
Off his game
Beechhurst: It didn’t help Trump that he was so sullen and surly during the debate. It also didn’t help that the ABC News moderators were clearly in Kamala’s corner given that they failed to press her on her past radical statements, like likening ICE to the KKK, her vow to end all private insurance and her reimagining of policing. But Trump missed a few golden opportunities to counterpunch. When Harris said she wants to create an “opportunity economy,” Trump should have said she’s actually pushing for a tyrannical, leviathan government in terms of business- and individual-crushing taxes, new spending and censorship of speech. He could have quipped that if you believe in Harris’ politically expedient faux centrism, he has a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. And he could have brought up her running mate’s bizarre statement that “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness.” But it was low-energy Don at the debate. James Hyland
Narrow it down
Cincinnati: Both contestants in the presidential debate dissembled about their records, Trump monumentally and Harris more subtly. ABC moderators placed a thumb on the scale by fact-checking Trump and leaving Harris’ misstatements unchecked. What’s a conscientious voter to do when both candidates are tilting at windmills? Well, sir, single-issue voters will settle on the candidate who most approximates their single issue. But if you have a more comprehensive view, then solving the dilemma may find purchase with one or the other party’s playbook. I value personal freedom — defined as autonomy of choice and lack of external compulsion — more highly than other considerations. So, as an Independent, I find the Republican Party more congenial. Paul Bloustein
Let slide
Bronx: Right-wing media is attacking the moderators who occasionally fact-checked Trump but also let him blab the most ridiculous nonsense. They should have asked him to define Marxism and asked how his tariffs would work. He confuses taxes on imports that he plans to impose, which we pay for, with taxes on exports that the other country pays for. How did someone so ignorant ever become president of our country? Randall Borra
Confidence man
Tarrytown, N.Y.: To Voicer Charles T. Compton: Trump obviously won the debate with his distorted lies and by shouting everything. MAGA people eat up these conspiracy theories as they blindly adulate their orange autocrat. Truth be damned. If it came out of his mouth at a high volume, it must be true. Immigrants eat pets! His crowd sizes are huge! Democrats kill babies! He fires bad people in his administration! I know nothing about Project 2025! He will end the war in Ukraine overnight (the rare twisted policy he will follow through on, handing the country over to his puppet master Vladimir Putin)! If you’re still undecided about who to vote for, I have a bridge to sell you. Adam Reich
Sins of his father
Middle Village: Perhaps unnoticed in the debate was the fact that Trump mentioned that Kamala’s father is a Marxist. But wasn’t Trump’s father arrested at a Queens KKK rally? John Puglisi
Protection paradox
Howard Beach: The world we live in is very hypocritical. Some will die on the hill that guns are necessary to protect themselves. But how will I be protected if every day I wonder if it will be the next “never again”? Angelina Schimmenti
Access is the issue
Brooklyn: Each state needs to reform gun laws, as it is too easy to buy one. Make it more difficult to buy them. These gun problems do not exist in London. Jophy Zheng
Toutin’ to youth
Brooklyn: Since when were smile lines one of the top fears children had? Anti-aging products, from serums with harsh chemicals to straws made for reducing wrinkles, are being targeted to their youngest demographic in history. It is ironic that girls younger than ever are wasting their youth consumed by their desire to slow down the aging process. When I was 10, I didn’t even know what skincare was. Darian Greenbaum
Disrespect for authority
Marlboro, N.J.: The follow-up article re the traffic stop of Tyreek Hill (“Hill wants cop fired, says he was wrong, too,” Sept. 12) was a total whitewash of what really went down. Watch the video! He was belligerent and aggressive from the very start. Was the cop (Danny Torres) aggressive? Yes. When confronted with aggression and defiance, cops need to be aggressive. This is not a Black or white issue, it’s a social issue — increasing disrespect for law enforcement. It’s dangerous for the cops and for the public. We can’t have that, and it should be unacceptable to all of us. The only response should be, “Yes, officer” and “I understand, officer” to avoid confrontation. It works! And the article incorrectly stated that the officer is 27; he is a 27-year veteran — who has been placed on administrative duty because of our refusal to place blame where it really lies. Howard Winick
Missed the mark
Manhattan: To Voicer Steve Ditlea: Really? All those accomplishments and you’re the guy who thought a gender reveal was for transgenders. Remember, Steve, it’s online ’til the end of time. You may want to pick that mic up before you break it. I’m sure you’ll need it to spew more unhinged, bigoted nonsense. As the kids say: “You thought you ate? Gimme that plate.” T.S. Fallani
Falling into fall
Liberty, N.Y.: I agree with Voicers Sarah Alboher, Lynn Fodor and Marcia Epstein about not liking summer. Give me the shorter days and the cooler temps. The fall and winter in the Catskills are beautiful. Loretta Guido