Letters to the Editor: Trump being on trial charms only his voters. Stop saying it helps him

To the editor: It has grown tiresome hearing pundits from the right and left suggest that former President Trump will score points with voters as a result of being a criminal defendant in numerous trials. ("Prosecutors seek more sanctions for Trump as key witness resumes testimony in hush money trial," May 2)

Which voters will be impressed with someone who shows contempt for the rule of law, sounds more like a wannabe dictator than a president, and exudes the personal charm of a deadly rattlesnake?

President Biden's voters will not be impressed, and Trump voters will think it's super keen. Those roughly 10% of voters who are in the middle or undecided — what about them?

Who in their right mind would vote for a lawless insurrectionist? I am confident those in the middle will, by well over 50%, pull the lever for Biden, so we can be rid of this narcissist masquerading as a presidential candidate.

Rich Ellison, Santa Barbara

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To the editor: One hears with increasing frequency that Trump wants to be jailed because it plays into his "I am a victim" reelection strategy. In effect, he wants to use a cold, dark jail as a setting for his act.

If Trump continues to defy the New York court's gag order, he should be confined, as would any other defendant engaging in such conduct. However, the place of Trump's confinement shouldn't be the big house, as in a jail cell, but the truly big house — as in his gilded New York apartment.

Forcing Trump to claim that confinement to his 11,000-square-foot aerie is cruel might be a more effective way to bring him to heel than any conventional punishment.

Mark Steinberg, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.