1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

I’m writing as an Utah resident who expects more than silence when something this serious is said out loud. When Donald Trump talks about wiping out an entire civilization, that’s not just bluster. That’s the kind of language the world agreed, after World War II, should never be normalized again. Threatening civilians on that scale crosses a line legally and morally. And right now, there’s no clear justification for it. Iran hasn’t attacked the U.S. directly. Congress hasn’t declared war. So what exactly are we defending here? You’ve built a reputation as someone who tries to think things through and speak with some level of principle. That’s why your voice matters more than most and why your silence stands out more than most. You’ve also been open about your faith. The teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are pretty clear about the value of human life and the idea of being a peacemaker. There’s no version of that message that lines up with threatening to erase an entire population. That disconnect is hard to ignore. If a foreign leader said this, we’d be condemning it without hesitation. We wouldn’t be parsing tone or intent—we’d call it dangerous. So I’ll ask it plainly: Do you think it’s acceptable for an American president to talk about destroying a civilian population? Because choosing not to respond is still a response. It tells people what we’re willing to tolerate. And if you believe this kind of rhetoric reflects something more serious, something unstable or dangerous, then saying so publicly isn’t enough. Leaders in your position should be urging Republican officials at the federal level to take a hard look at their constitutional responsibilities, including whether the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution needs to be part of that conversation if this continues. That’s not about politics. That’s about guardrails. At some point, “I didn’t want to get involved” stops being a reasonable position, especially when the stakes are this high. I’d like to hear where you stand.