To the Editor:

Re “‘Trump Will Be Re-elected, Won’t He?,’” by Thomas L. Friedman (column, July 17):

I can only hope that the some of the leading Democratic candidates for president spend a few minutes considering Mr. Friedman’s request to “keep it simple.” There are many Democratic voters like me who are not asking for a revolution. What we need instead are common-sense policies that do not require a complete revamp of our economy.

The candidates must also understand before it is too late that the solution to nearly every problem they are trying to solve — be it health care, immigration or climate change — starts with getting Donald Trump out of the White House. Anything they propose that strengthens Mr. Trump’s hand, such as abolishing private health insurance or decriminalizing illegal entry into this country, is a step in the wrong direction.

Kumar Venkat

Portland, Ore.

To the Editor:

Thomas L. Friedman’s fear of President Trump winning re-election is justified. That’s why the Indivisible movement has gotten millions of activists to pledge to support the eventual nominee no matter who that is. We are all terrified.

But the idea that Democrats must choose between proposing bold, comprehensive solutions for universal health care, a humane immigration system and addressing the climate crisis or winning elections is a false choice. It’s also out of touch: Only those who haven’t been affected by the climate crisis, who have health insurance and who aren’t afraid of their community being torn apart by ICE can sit back and say we can wait to address these crises that are hurting millions of people across the country.