As reported by The Guardian on April 30, President Donald Trump described the U.S. Constitution as “archaic” and that our constitutional checks and balances are “really a bad thing for the country.” This is madness and reveals a complete lack of historical perspective.

In the past, our Constitution has helped constrain would-be tyrants and provided certain members of our society the ability to overcome to varying degrees the systematic disadvantages they have encountered.

One responsibility of the U.S. president is to protect our institutions, i.e., those defined by the very document Trump now apparently seeks to undermine. His interest in weakening our independent judiciary, the freedom of the press and separation of church (religion) and state is evident by the actions and comments we’ve all observed during his brief tenure at the U.S. helm.

There is only one reason why a president would seek to do this and that’s to assume far more power than was intended by the founders. This is a dictator in the making and he must be prevented from achieving these aims. We must all defend and support our institutions as they stand between Americans and the despotic oppression that would surely follow their demise. We must all speak out when faced with Trump’s outrageously anti-American statements and inclinations.

David Schwartz

Bellevue