Dear Mr. Olds,
Please re-read my column (“Visiting Buenos Aires,” Jan. 5 edition.) I accurately restated the fears of virtually all the Argentinian businessman I met: they are afraid now-President Trump will act with the casual brutality he displayed during his campaign. They said that, not me.
Remember, they have experienced the end point of casual brutality: casual firing squads and the murders of tens of thousands. This has been their recent history. To them, it is not a casual game of name calling.
That Trump has huge conflicts of interest is hardly news. That he is widely loathed, a word you used, not me, is hardly news either.
The first thing a new dictator attempts to do is intimidate the press, which is why our founders created the First Amendment. Trump now is doing the same thing, as are you in your letter.
Michael Ray, Laguna Beach
