From Brooklyn to the LA Times: My Published Words

MY WORDS - The Los Angeles Times published the following headline: “Letters to the Editor: Trump’s vanity is threatening the very soul of our democracy.”Underneath it continued: “His signature — those sharp peaks like Manhattan skyscrapers in heavy black marker — is even destined for our currency. And now, our passports. Really?,” writes an L.A. Times reader.

That line – “sharp peaks like Manhattan skyscrapers in heavy black marker” – is exactly what editors call a “signature detail.” So, who was that L.A. Times reader? It was me, Dimitris Eleas, writing from the other side of the country and imagining that cinematic image.

I was honored to have my words published in the Los Angeles Times earlier this month. A major West Coast newspaper founded in 1881 and the recipient of 52 Pulitzer Prizes, the LA Times remains one of America’s most influential newspapers and an important platform for discussing the state of the nation.

My letter, which appeared first among the published letters, addresses what I see as the unprecedented branding of public institutions and national symbols with the president’s name and image, from currency to passports. A special thank you to journalist Alex Stedman for her call and thoughtful editing. And here, it would be an omission not to mention the thanks I owe to the editor of CityWatch LA, Jim Hampton, for his help and all the support over the years.

The letter appears below exactly as it was published online on May 1, and in print in the Sunday edition on May 3, 2026.

To the editor: The report regarding the limited-edition passport to mark America’s 250th anniversary is revealing (“U.S. will issue commemorative passports with Trump’s picture for America’s 250th birthday,” April 29). With our country $39 trillion in debt, one wonders if this is truly the best priority. Is this really necessary? Can the president — who once ran casinos into bankruptcy — sink any lower?

The branding featuring his name and face is relentless: first a “meme coin,” then his name on the Kennedy Center and multiple federal buildings. His signature — those sharp peaks like Manhattan skyscrapers in heavy black marker — is even destined for our currency. And now, our passports. Really?

Are we still a republic? Can we still say, “We the People”? Soon, Americans may be walking the globe with this document in hand. I find this deeply concerning; it is a warning we can no longer ignore.

Our country is drifting from the Founding Founders’ vision. To be an American means standing against this erosion of democratic symbolism — an unfolding vanity that threatens our traditions not only globally, but in our very souls.

(Dimitris Eleas is a New York City–based political scientist, writer, and independent researcher. His e-mail is: [email protected].)