OPINION:
I read with interest Donald Lambro’s recent column (“Slowing economy could mean trouble for Trump in the election,” Web, Nov. 7). There is one whopper in the third paragraph, however, that demonstrates the importance of fact checking before writing.
Mr. Lambro quotes The Washington Post that “a slew of major employers … have closed” in Marinette, Wisconsin. I live here and have for over three years, and I know that statement to be a blatant lie, written by people in far-away Washington and out of touch with the real America. This type of irresponsible reporting is simply fodder for our fearless leader to cry fake news. Yes, a number of stores have closed, but the whole retail environment is in flux all over the country because of online retailing, not because of the current administration’s economic policies.
My wife and I are retired, so we are not directly affected by the job market in Marinette or in neighboring Menominee, Michigan, but I am not aware of a “slew of major employers” having closed. Yes, some are struggling, but the situation represented in the Washington newspapers is terribly misleading.
There is much more that could be said about Mr. Lambro’s column. Do not depend on “the polls.” They can be skewed any way the pollsters choose. I am not a fan of President Trump; quite frankly, I find him disgraceful. If the Democrats could find one candidate with a clean record and even the most vague understanding of economics, I would vote for him or her.
Mr. Lambro’s statement about Mr. Trump’s re-election being the biggest miracle since Harry Houdini is not necessarily true, either. In 1948, all the polls were wrong, and Harry “Houdini” Truman became our president for four more years. “Dewey Defeats Truman?” Fake news.
DONALD W. SMITH
Marinette, Wisc.
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