The treatment of the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office by our president and vice president was nothing short of despicable. He was treated with disrespect, including being accused of not being sufficiently subservient. Adding insult to injury, our president attempted to change the narrative of the Russian invasion to make it look like Ukraine was to blame.
Donald Trump wants to withdraw from our European friends and neighbors in NATO. The Canadian and Mexican economies have always been closely integrated with our own. Using the excuse of too much fentanyl coming across the border (it is a very small amount and getting smaller, thanks to Canada’s and Mexico’s efforts), he decided with little or no consultation to levy 25% tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel from both Mexico and Canada, grossly affecting our own industry, especially auto manufacturers. It is no surprise that Canada has retaliated with tariffs on oil, lumber and electricity. China, meantime, answered his tariffs on $50 billion of its goods with tariffs on soy and other grains, thus hurting our farmers.
This totally unnecessary tariff war is wreaking havoc with our stock market and businesses that are now unable to plan for their financial futures amid the chaos.
Elon Musk has summarily fired civil servants in a way that has degraded our government’s ability to deliver critical services to millions of Americans and is endangering payments to many more. Ultimately, he is attempting to destroy America and who we are and where we stand on the world stage.
To quote Jamelle Bouie (The New York Times, March 9): “His revenge tour has found its true target, and we are it.”
Julia Sperry
Hockessin
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
