1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

Greetings. I am a voting constituent in rural west Texas. A couple of observations before we head into the long Labor Day weekend from someone who’s on track to never vote for a single Republican ever again in my life. First, the current DJT pander regarding IVF is ludicrous. Trump has refused to support, and his running mate voted against, efforts to enshrine protections for IVF. The Republican platform contains support for fetal personhood, which would effectively ban IVF. The only thing he forgot to add was the chicken for every pot. Nobody believes any promise he makes on the topic of reproductive rights. Full stop. Second, now the U.S. Army has weighed in on the scandal surrounding Trump’s visit to Arlington National Cemetery for a campaign photo op, after which his team shared a campaign video it had filmed. “I don’t think I can adequately explain what a massive deal it is for the Army to make a statement like this,” political writer and veteran Allison Gill of Mueller, She Wrote, noted. “The Pentagon avoids statements like this at all costs.” Within hours of the Army statement, Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita reposted the offending video on X and, tagging the official account for Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, said he was “hoping to trigger the hacks” in her office.  Ever classy. In Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall reported that the Trump campaign’s plan was to lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 13 members of the U.S. military killed in the suicide bombing during the evacuation of Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021. They intended all along to film the event and then attack Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for not “showing up” for the event, which they intended to portray as an “established memorial.” Of course they had to first man-handle a woman out of their way. Reminder: it was Trump who negotiated the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and forced the Afghan government to release thousands of jailed Taliban fighters in a prisoner swap. Those decisions helped make possible the Taliban’s swift return to power. Remember all that? Lastly, I’ve never experienced the low that is the current Trump campaign strategy of misogyny. In what universe will this be a winner? Alienating half the population, along with willfully fighting with the U.S. military, to prove you’re qualified to be the leader of the free world seems a bit counterproductive. But then again I’m just a woman. Just a woman who will make certain DJT goes home for good in November. Me, and every close Republican friend I have. Believe it.