Paul Kaplan: Republicans rarely cite sources for bogus claims

A letter published on Nov. 18 claims that we need to “get this country back on its feet,” and that we have been “the laughing stock of the world with the last administration” [“Election results,” Gazette]. I assume the writer is claiming that people are laughing at the current administration, a common talking point of Donald Trump and his allies.

But what is clear to informed citizens is that Republicans routinely make up facts from thin air. There is never a source: “Many people are saying,” “everyone knows,” etc. By and large, Democrats offer easily verifiable citations when they make a claim. The difference is night and day, and can be described simply as the difference between fact and fiction.

Far from needing to get back on its feet, the U.S. now has the strongest economy in the world according to The Wall Street Journal. But you would never know it from the Republican rhetoric, which is nothing more than lie after lie. As for the U.S. being a laughing stock, for nine years it has been Donald Trump who has been the laughing stock, with little international respect except among autocrats.

Out of seven democracies in western Europe, support for Kamala Harris in the election ranged from 81% in Denmark to 46% in Italy, where Trump got just 24% support in polls, according to Newsweek) You can look it up!

Paul Kaplan

Amherst