The Trump circus has made its intentions very clear. Its objectives of giving its voters what they want, regardless of the implications in the years ahead, are catastrophic.
Now is the time to accept that nothing can be done that will change this strategy, and time trying to reason with him is a waste of effort and shows weakness. It is vital for all Europeans to stand as one against this attack. We need to understand that the “special relationship” no longer exists and may never return. Everything has changed and we need to adapt to this new environment. We now cannot rely on America for anything, including support in a military crisis.
This is a critical moment for the UK. Will the government consider the future of the UK and Europe, or will it only consider how it can remain elected?
Julian Pratt
Brynfa, Llanon
It hasn’t taken long for Trump 2 to show their true colours. Free speech to them means being able to disseminate false narratives to stir up racial and ethnic tensions.
We do not need any lessons from these people who would like to turn back all the progress we have seen in Europe since the Second World War.
Ian Godfrey
London
It is clear that Elon Musk, through his control of the US Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), is staging a corporate takeover of the United States of America; one that will sideline the constitution, congress, the courts and the president (“14 states sue DOGE, Trump and ‘agent of chaos’ Elon Musk for violating Constitution”, Friday 14 February).
Musk is using federal data to train AI that may replace employees and allow whoever controls that AI unprecedented control over the levers of government. Worse, the approach Doge is taking to rapidly accessing US government servers could leave vast swathes of the US government open to cyberattack on an unprecedented scale.
Does Doge not present a national security risk to the United States of America, and potentially her allies?
Ian Henderson
Rockland St Mary, Norwich
In view of the recent comments from Donald Trump and others in his administration, is it not time for European countries as well as the UK to reconsider their relationship with the United States, particularly concerning the sharing of intelligence? (“General Sir Richard Shirreff: Trump’s craven appeasement of Putin spells danger for us all,” Saturday 15 February).
As Trump appears to have reignited his friendly relationship with Putin, can he and his administration be trusted with intelligence on Putin and Russia?
Alan Allwood
Billericay, Essex
People like Trump and Musk want to see the smallest possible state with minimal regulation. This gives them the freedom to do exactly as they wish, for their benefit. The strong survive and they have no interest in the weak and vulnerable.
For the Trumps of this world, a socialist or social democrat government is anathema. They must have been appalled when Labour won the UK election. They will use every power available to them to undermine the Starmer government to ensure it fails. Trump and Vance will play good cop, bad cop to drive their agenda forward.
Incidentally, has anyone else noticed how old and tired Trump is looking? The election campaign clearly took a lot out of him. If I were vice-president Vance, I would (very quietly!) be making preparations to take over sooner rather than later.
Bernard Cudd
Morpeth, Northumberland
Words from the US
Mr Trump, like any drug cartel kingpin or pornographer, knows that he must provide ever stronger product to his consumers. His genius lies in his intuitive understanding of how best to elicit and use hate. He has moved on from his campaign tactic of intentionally triggering liberals – he is now trying to provoke a violent reaction from the left.
Make no mistake, Trump 2.0, is a war against every aspect of liberal culture – libraries, schools, museums, performing arts institutions – nothing will remain untouched. President Trump is pursuing a scorched earth policy against everything represented by the principles of the Age of Enlightenment, centuries on.
Like every despot of the modern era, he requires enemies, foreign and domestic. We must neither speak nor abet violence, for in the words of the Scottish play, “blood will have blood”. We must remember to keep our “eyes on the prize”, which is the peaceful restoration of democracy.
Eric Radack
Santa Fe, California
It can be frustrating to try and discuss issues with President Trump’s Maga supporters because they won’t even listen. The reason is clear when talking to Trump’s appointed or elected supporters: They’re on a power trip and blind obedience is mandatory. But for the millions of working-class Maga true believers, the answer isn’t so obvious. Why won’t they even listen?
It can be like talking to a wall, with clear scientific and historical facts being flatly rejected. Ironically, the answer was given to us over a century ago by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed.”
No, they won’t listen and they will continue to reject science, history, and even simple morality until Trump himself has destroyed their illusions with his cruelty, misguided policies and economic blunders. Until that happens, hope and a dedication to correct principles will need to sustain us.
Mike Barrett
Ashburn, Virginia
Cold front for Reeves and Starmer
I read Sean O’Grady’s column (“Can Rachel Reeves survive questions over her expenses and CV?,” Saturday 15 February) with interest and I was not surprised to read that Keir Starmer finally appreciates what a dire error it was to remove the winter fuel allowance from millions of pensioners.
So many of the public, young and old, can’t reconcile this with a Labour government. Of course she was between a rock and a hard economic place and no one would envy her position, but better choices could have been made rather than pillorying small businesses, which of course trickles down to the government’s favoured demographic “hard-working people”.
I agree that she is a robotic speaker, with no real nuance or even empathy when she is doling out her punitive measures. Her doom and gloom scenario was enacted with such force, as if it was the public’s fault that the economy had gone belly up with the previous government. Now we have a full-throttle chancellor encouraging growth with every sinew she possesses, which may or may not work in these very febrile circumstances with President Trump Mark Two. So probably she should not be made surplus to requirements, but something has to change and she needs to change with it.
Judith Daniels
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
Batteries not included?
Given the fact that Reform MP Rupert Lowe owns a battery storage business, it’s interesting that Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have announced that they would ban them (“Reform sets out windfall tax on renewables in bid to undo Net Zero,” Wednesday 12 February).
It’s becoming ever more clear that all isn’t well within the party. Even the ideas, probably written on the back of a fag packet, would drive up renewable costs by making infrastructure more expensive thus leaving the UK even more exposed to volatile global energy markets, cutting investment, cutting jobs, ignoring climate change and ultimately whacking up energy bills by making renewables and pylons cost more.
Geoffrey Brooking
Havant, Hampshire
Trump cards
Donald Trump might be going to make America Great again, but he could and indeed should ponder on the fact that we are Great Britain, we always have been and always will be Great Britain – we just don’t bore people by bragging about it!
Ian Wingfield
Hope Valley, Derbyshire
Interestingly, Trump and Vance, both advocates of immigration bans, have chosen immigrants or their offspring as wives.
Still, as has already been said, we need immigrants to do the jobs Americans don’t want to do.
Geoff Forward
Stirling
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