Among the many vacuous statements Donald Trump has made since his election as president, one that ranks high on my list is his response to critics who have objected to his virtual clearing of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia of ordering the murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi — a murder, Trump informed reporters, “I dislike more than you do.”

No surprise there. When it comes to saying or doing anything laudable, Trump trumps just about everyone.

When I read his words, quoted in an Associated Press article (Sun Journal, Nov. 23), my mouth dropped in disbelief. Yet this is what America’s “favorite president” (as he is pleased to regard himself), stated: “Maybe the world should be held accountable” for the murder “because the world is a vicious place. The world is a very, very vicious place.”

That perfect piece of inanity from a man who, on one occasion, bragged that his IQ is “one of the highest.” I wonder: Was it due to a lapse in mindfulness that he didn’t go the limit and call it tremendous?

William LaRochelle, Lewiston