1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am writing as a deeply concerned constituent who is alarmed by the President’s conduct and by Congress’s continued failure to act. Yesterday in Davos, the President publicly referred to himself as a dictator and repeatedly confused Greenland and Iceland, while simultaneously making threats involving sovereign nations. This is not a trivial gaffe. It is profoundly embarrassing, deeply destabilizing, and dangerous. The inability to distinguish between countries while engaging in reckless rhetoric about invasion should concern every serious lawmaker, regardless of party. No sane person wants a dictator. No constitutional democracy can tolerate a leader who jokes about, or appears confused by, the very concepts of sovereignty, governance, and power. The damage to our credibility abroad is immediate and severe. The damage at home, normalizing authoritarian language, eroding trust in institutions, and humiliating the nation on the world stage, is even worse. What is most disturbing is not only the President’s behavior, but Congress’s refusal to meet its constitutional responsibility. The legislative branch was not designed to be a silent observer while the executive disgraces the office and destabilizes the country. Your oath is to the Constitution, not to any individual. Every day Congress fails to act is another day our country suffers, economically, diplomatically, and morally. So far, you have chosen comfort, fear, or political calculation over duty. That is not acceptable. You must rise above special interests and corporate donors. You must take meaningful action to defend the rule of law, the dignity of the office, and the stability of our democracy. Please. Do much better.