A recent letter writer claims that the U.S. has been “the laughing stock of the world with the last administration” [“Election results,” Gazette, Nov. 18]. What world is he talking about? Which administration? Because if he’s talking about Trump 1.0, he is indeed correct: the U.S. was the the laughing stock of the world.

With Trump 2.0, the U.S. is not so much a laughing stock as an object of pity and scorn. Where does the writer get his information? I would welcome the chance to be enlightened by asking him in person. Perhaps he could contact me through this newspaper so we could find a public place for a civil conversation.

Alex Kent

Amherst