Letters to the Editor: Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough met with Trump. Why is that a bad thing?

To the editor: I wish to disagree with columnist Lorraine Ali’s assessment, and those by many others, of MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s decision to visit President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. (“Neo-Nazi marches. ‘Both sides’ framing. This is who we are. But it doesn’t have to be,” column, Nov. 22)
They decided that talking about their opponents (as is the case with most news analysts, regardless of the side they’re on) has not worked in these highly polarized times. They decided to try something new.
They visited Trump. They let him know that they would speak out on his actions, positively on those that met their democratic and constitutional values, and negatively on those that did not. This, as they said, was trying something different.
I was disturbed by the strong backlash from commentators, including those with whom I typically agree, who equated this with caving in to Trump. Will the MSNBC hosts’ idea be beneficial to our political discourse? Only time will tell.
I am a Democrat who wishes that Vice President Kamala Harris had won. She didn’t. We need to find ways to move forward in the protection of our democracy and human rights. At least Scarborough and Brzezinski are trying something new.
Patricia Berberich, Port Hueneme
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To the editor: I recently tuned in to a CNN segment featuring journalist Dana Bash talking about neo-Nazis marching in Ohio. What I saw left me profoundly disillusioned with the network. I never anticipated CNN giving a kind of legitimacy to neo-Nazies.
After I saw that segment, I read Ali’s column mentioning Bash’s report on the white nationalists and the alarming rise of neo-Nazis. Her piece struck a chord, echoing my profound concerns about the matter.
We mustn’t give any legitimacy to neo-Nazi ideologies or movements; we must stand firmly against them.
Anthony Stevens, Dana Point