Letters to the Editor | Sept. 16, 2026
Inquirer readers on Sen. Ted Cruz’s speech at the Republican midterm convention and President Trump’s preoccupation with serving a third term — despite the constitutional restriction on doing so.
Inciteful speech
As Ted Cruz spoke during the two-day Trumpapalooza (a.k.a. Republican midterm convention) in Dallas, each time he mentioned a Democratic politician, a voice from the sparse crowd yelled, “He should be shot!” Cruz’s reaction? Nothing. He just kept speaking, with no attempt to denounce or even acknowledge the outbursts. Three times. No pushback. Republican reaction, in general, has been muted. Neither Dave McCormick nor Brian Fitzpatrick nor Democrat John Fetterman has responded in any way to these calls for violence against political opponents. First, it was “Lock her up!” against Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now it has escalated to “He should be shot!” against Abdul El-Sayed, James Talarico, and Zohran Mamdani. The anemic-to-nonexistent Republican pushback to these calls for violence smacks of condonation and quiet, passive encouragement. Is any opposing Democrat now fair game?
In addition, in complete disregard for the Constitution, Donald Trump begged the attendees to pledge an oath to him, “the greatest president in the history of the United States, that loves us so much he can’t even breathe, that I will go out with my family, my friends, I’ll do it any way — I don’t care if I’m registered or not, I’m going to cheat like hell like they do.”
Cheat like hell. They should be shot. How did we get here?
This is a president and a conservative machine that knows they are on the ropes. The threat is real, and has been building for months. As others have said, Trump wouldn’t be working so hard to suppress our votes if our votes didn’t matter. The Dallas midterm convention is just the latest alarm bell tolling loudly and clearly, telling us in no uncertain terms that this November our vote matters more than ever.
Deborah DiMicco, Newtown
. . .
I am horrified at the response of “He should be shot,” which seemed to be directed at Democrats during Ted Cruz’s speech at the midterm convention in Dallas. But now I am more horrified that The Inquirer has not responded. We always count on you to validate our values of nonviolence. Your writing is so eloquent and true, and we know you are not afraid to stand up to violent threats or the people who normalize them. Please help us to condemn violence.
W. Walker, Philadelphia
No Kings
The 22nd Amendment, which was added to the Constitution in 1951 after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected four times, states that “no person shall be elected to the Office of the President more than twice.” President Donald Trump, elected twice, affirmed that “there are methods” for him to win a third term and lead the country after 2028.
Historically, the nation’s founders opposed a president for life or anything that resembled a monarchy. As the nation’s third president, Thomas Jefferson opposed presidential terms exceeding two. He stated that if a presidency exceeds two terms, it will “easily degenerate into an inheritance.”
Unfortunately, Trump will continue to explore ways to stay in office. We need to stand in unison and demand an end to Trump’s unchecked power-grab. We cannot bring our democracy to the brink.
Ed Vreeswyk, Yardville
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