Dear Mr. Trump,

As you hire yet another “acting” chief of staff, the situation in the White House reminds me of James P. O’Donnell’s book, The Bunker. If you ever read a book, perhaps you’d know that this is a riveting discussion of the last days of Adolf Hitler’s regime. The book jacket blurb (by Gerald Green) notes:

“Nothing I’ve read on the subject reveals so vividly the psychopaths, quasi-criminals and looneys who made up the entourage around Germany’s demon king.  It was the last gasp of a rat pack.”

Yes, all these terms apply equally well to the people around you, but what caught my eye today was “rat pack.” You recently described your former attorney, Michael Cohen, as a “rat,” i.e., one who confesses his role in crime and implicates others. Everyone you brought around you who’s now pled guilty to a crime – Cohen, Gen. Flynn, Richard Gates, and others – are now “rats” in your view because they’ve told the truth. You directed them to commit crimes, they did so, and now they’re paying the price, but at least they’re now telling why they know. There’s no honor among thieves.

So, to continue the comparison, Hitler was angry at everyone, and so are you. Hitler put down his closest associates, and so do you, as when, e.g., you called your former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “dumb as a rock.” Hitler directed disastrous strategies in his last days in power, and, as you force the government into a shutdown, so do you.

Hitler brought his country ruin by his slogan of “making Germany great again,” by his arrogance, by his insanely inflated opinion of himself, by his obsession with creating a pure white race, and by his murderous instincts.

We who oppose your conduct as president are determined to avoid for the United States the same kind of outcome that Hitler brought to Germany.

Very truly yours,

Bruce J. Berger