To the Editor:

An American coup d’etat is in progress. There are no guns being fired, no booting out of the president. This coup is being orchestrated in daylight right before our eyes and there seems to be no way of stopping this juggernaut.

Someone who studied authoritarian regimes said, the trouble is, once the public wakes up to realize their country has become a dictatorship, it is too late,

This is happening here and nodw. We have a president who loves powerful authoritarian leaders, calls journalists the enemy, and pretty much does whatever he so desires from day to day with zero understanding of the or the gravity of the office he holds. He admits he doesn’t read, and forms his opinions from the last person he talks to. And people blindly worship him!

Are you scared yet?

This week there was an uptick in the chaos and distractions, which conveniently takes our attention away from a budget that contains every right wing wish dreamt up in the last 40 years. It gives a massive holiday gift to the ultra rich and major corporations that our children and grandchildren will have to pay for. Why do they need this give-away? It makes no sense. The stock market is booming, these criminals hide money overseas to avoid taxes and we reward them. Everyone should be outraged!

This inhumane budget is being rammed through Congress at record speed, with zero input from the Democrats and from over half of our country’s people.

When Trump was asked about the hollowing out of State Department, here is what he said: “But we have some people that I’m not happy with there. Lemme tell you, the one that matters is me. I’m the only one that matters, because when it comes to it, that’s what the policy is going to be.”

We need action. Please call your representatives in Congress and tell them what you think about their budget.

• Rep. Mark Meadows, District 11, meadows.house.gov/contact, 202.225.6401.

• Rep. Patrick McHenry, District 10, mchenry.house.gov/contact, 202.225.2576.

• Sen. Thom Tillis, www.tillis.senate.gov/contact,  202.224.6342.

• Senator Richard Burr, www.burr.senate.gov/contact, 202.224.3154.

Caryl Brt

Waynesville