I AGREE entirely with Kevin McKenna when he points out the danger that Donald Trump may succeed in inhibiting the press (“Heaven forfend should Trump succeed in muzzling the press”, The Herald, February 18). I too watched President Trump’s news conference and it was so off the wall that sometimes I just had to laugh; but at heart it was nasty, gruesome and disturbing. I don’t think I’ve ever before witnessed in any country’s leader such vanity, such egoism and egotism, such rudeness and paranoia or such ignorance.

As Mr McKenna points out, the President was challenged on his claim that he’d won by the biggest electoral college margin since Ronald Reagan. The questioner began reading out names of presidents who’d won by a greater margin, and started with Barack Obama. Immediately, Mr Trump interrupted with “I’m talking about Republicans”, but then the reporter mentioned George Bush. Which is when Mr Trump fell back on the excuse that “I was given that information”.

The exchange was revealing. Mr Trump made a false claim and was challenged on it. His immediate reaction was to pretend he’d meant something different and, when that claim also proved to be untrue, he then tried to blame somebody else. This President has no respect for the truth, just as he has no respect for the media or the courts or, as I suspect will eventually become clear, for the American people.

There were several questions to Mr Trump about the circumstances whereby his National Security Adviser Mike Flynn was forced to resign within days of being appointed. Mr Flynn had been in negotiations with Russia before his appointment which, for obvious reasons, is strictly forbidden. Mr Trump defended Mr Flynn, claiming he had done nothing wrong, “he was just doing his job”. Apparently the only reason Mr Flynn was fired was because he hadn’t been truthful to Vice-President Mike Pence when asked about his activities.

Again, Mr Trump’s response was worrying. He thinks he and his team are above the law. He sees himself as a chief executive who is accountable to no one, who can hire and fire as he sees fit. He believes he can rule by presidential fiat, unconstrained by Congress or the courts or a free press. He is a clearly a narcissist, has many of the characteristics of a psychopath, and behaves like a fascist. That may not worry his many supporters in the US, but it sure does worry me.

Doug Maughan,

53 Menteith View, Dunblane.

I FIND it most regrettable that the Prime Minister has put the Sovereign in a position where she has to wine and dine someone no decent person would allow on their property (“Protesters fail to stop Trump’s state visit”, The Herald, February 21).

I am sure Mrs May is regretting the hasty decision she made to invite President Trump for a state visit. The man will get not a warm reception but a hot one, a reception that will cool our relationship with the United States substantially.

R Mill Irving,

Station House, Station Road, Gifford, East Lothian.