President Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki; however, we will never know what was said in that meeting because Trump and Putin and their interpreters were the only people in the room for 90-plus minutes. It’s safe to say the discussion will never be disclosed, and even if it was, we can’t trust either of them to tell the truth.

Putin is not a friend to the U.S.; he is our enemy. He is a ruthless dictator. He sanctioned the interference into our 2016 election (and probably others); he has ordered the murders of those who speak out against him, including residents of our ally Great Britain; and Russia was proven to be responsible for the downing of a Malaysian Airlines flight over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 283 passengers on board. Putin was complicit in war crimes in Syria, which included the gassing of children. He has repeatedly denied all of this wrongdoing, despite irrefutable proof to the contrary.

Once he saw the fallout back home, Trump tried to walk back the comments in which he sided with Putin despite our U.S. intelligence agencies’ proof of election meddling. That walk-back failed miserably. As usual, it was a carefully crafted statement that Trump read, not even being able to correct his prior statement without assistance. It’s past time for our elected representatives to hold Trump accountable for his actions.

Someone needs to remind Trump that he works for all of us, not just his dwindling base. Our taxes pay for him (and his large family) to live and travel in grand style. We should all be outraged.

Kathryn Baker

Westbrook