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Tried-and-true Trump supporters will either dismiss these warnings as “fake news” or welcome them as the very sort of strong-man rule some of them clearly desire. But for Americans with a longer and more level-headed view, the message should be clear: We have as president a man radically out of keeping with previous norms and understandings that constrain executive behavior, a man who is mentally, temperamentally, and intellectually unfit to occupy the Oval Office. (Scot Lehigh, 9/6)

Two years ago, when the Editorial Board broke longstanding precedent and urged Americans not to vote for Donald Trump, we did so reluctantly and only out of myriad concerns about his fitness for office. Once voters had spoken, most Americans hoped he was capable of growing into the job. A ship, after all, has only one captain, and all passengers share a stake in his or her success. The mounting evidence, from people inside the White House itself, that Captain Trump may be erratically steering the nation toward an iceberg is both clarifying and somewhat terrifying. (9/6)

If the NYT op-ed is true in its claims that the president does not “fully grasp” what’s happening in his administration, is amoral, “engages in repetitive rants,” and that “his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back,” we are talking about something far worse than a president wanting a short break from the stresses of the office. If that op-ed is true, if the president is indeed acting “in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic,” we have confirmation that the country is being run either by someone totally unfit or by a secret coterie of un-elected advisers who collectively decided to run America behind his back — and ours. Either one of these scenarios is absolutely unacceptable. (K. Ward Cummings, 9/6)

Donald Trump’s fitness to hold office undoubtedly is in question; in a healthy democracy, bipartisan support for his removal would be a fait accompli. The time has long since past for the GOP — as it did with Nixon in 1972 — to compel Trump to resign. However, it’s unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or Florida Sen. Marco Rubio are inclined to do so. As it stands, Republicans seem content to let our democracy rot from its head. (Keith E. Noble, 9/6)