To the editor: To the MAGA Republicans who witnessed the shameful treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by President Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Friday, do you feel better about Trump and his vision for America?
Russian President Vladimir Putin surely is celebrating and will be more aggressive toward European democracies. I am more ashamed of my country than I have ever been in my 70 years of being an American.
Trump and his administration have destroyed any trust and respect we had left with other democracies. They are also emboldening dictators. The United States will now be seen as cowards who kowtow to oligarchs and strongmen.
Americans, now is the time to speak out. Write letters to your local newspapers. Write to your members of Congress. Write to the president. Silence cannot be golden when it will only lead to more dark days and shame for the United States.
Nelson Sagisi, Santa Maria
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To the editor: My father parachuted into Normandy with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division on June 5, 1944. He fought his way through hedgerows to Paris. Later he survived the Battle of the Bulge. He was 19 years old.
What was he fighting for? To destroy the Nazis. To end fascism. To preserve the American way of life and the values we hold dear.
This is what Ukraine is fighting for. To end a Russian invasion. To preserve democracy in their homeland and the values they hold most dear.
After the Trump-Vance blow-up with Zelensky, I am forced to ask: Is this what America has become, a nation that betrays friends and allies?
Faith C’Dealva, Laguna Niguel
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To the editor: In prison and gang parlance, being “disrespectful” is one of the most common reasons for being beaten or killed.
In the White House Oval Office on Friday, our gangster bully president accused the president of Ukraine of being disrespectful toward the United States and unworthy of our assistance. He then washed his hands of any further discussion with this beleaguered patriot.
It was the most disgraceful and disgusting example of public bullying by any world leader that I have ever seen or heard about.
Trump voters, you’re reaping what you sowed with adolescent hero worship and single-minded concern about your own comfort and economic well being. You gave us a “leader” with the habits, opinions and actions of a gang leader or chief of an ignorant mob.
Thanks for the next four years. I hope you enjoy it.
Robert Von Bargen, Santa Monica
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To the editor: If Zelensky thinks he can come to our country, come into the White House and complain about anything after the billions we’ve given his country, he needs to be shown the door. I’m glad to see that Trump and Vance have the personalities necessary to face off with Zelensky.
How someone like Zelensky, a former comedian and entertainer, became Ukraine’s president is as astonishing as how someone like Trump was elected president of the U.S. twice. So in a way, the two guys are cut from similar cloth, the only difference being that Zelensky is in no position to negotiate terms to anyone, especially to the hand that feeds him.
I think the meeting went rather well, and I’m glad it was caught on camera. Zelensky really needs to watch himself, as he isn’t dealing with sophisticated “statesmen” who will be pleasant and polite.
Furthermore, I am in no way surprised that they want to continue negotiating. That’s what people do when they’ve been caught in the wrong and are begging for mercy.
Arthur Saginian, Santa Clarita
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To the editor: What ever happened to Ronald Reagan’s belief that America is the “shining city upon the hill”?
After watching two bullies in the Oval Office beat up on the little guy in order to take his minerals, and listening to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and others pile on in a feeding frenzy of support for Trump, I am more convinced than ever that America is rotting from the inside out.
When are we going to wake up?
Gary Barton, Seal Beach
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To the editor: As an American viewing Zelensky’s meeting with Trump, I was personally embarrassed by the chaotic lack of decorum within the Oval Office.
I cannot understand why our top elected officials cannot comport themselves in a manner that reflects their stature as leaders of the free world and willingness to listen to different viewpoints.
Mark Balys, Riverside
