I applaud President Donald Trump’s attempts to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Watching Monday’s extraordinary meeting at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and various European leaders, I’m confident Russian President Vladimir Putin got the message: It’s time to make a deal before these nations bankrupt the Russian economy.
My hope is a trilateral meeting between Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy takes place soon — not in Moscow but at Camp David. This would be a big step toward Oslo, where the Nobel Peace Prize typically is presented.
— Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach, California
Public relations victories
When President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he gives these accused war criminals undeserved recognition and respectability. Public relation victories for them and nothing but shame for the United States.
Many of the victims in Ukraine and Gaza have been children, and as a result, Putin and Netanyahu have been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Putin has been reproached for taking thousands of children from Ukraine who were then illegally adopted by Russian families or placed in foster homes in Russia or in Russian-held areas that were seized by the Russian military. Due to an international outcry, some of the children have been repatriated back to Ukraine, but most have not.
Likewise, Netanyahu has also been singled out by the ICC. The photo in Saturday’s Tribune of an emaciated Palestinian child (“Hunger denied as kids flood hospital”) supports the ICC’s war crime charge that Netanyahu is using starvation as a weapon in Gaza, which has become a modern-day Warsaw ghetto.
Trump keeps clamoring for a Nobel Peace Prize, but his hopes are delusional since his incompetent dealings with Putin and Netanyahu have enabled them to continue their dastardly deeds. Consequently, immoral actions and violence against children and others have gone on despite naïve campaign promises that he could end both wars quickly.
— Larry Vigon, Chicago
Trump deserves praise
Even with the hatred/dislike for Donald Trump the person, how can anyone try to foster fault with Trump our president with the effort he has made, and continues to make, to try to end the invasion by Russia in Ukraine? In his recent column, it was clear that Daniel DePetris’ intent was to project negativity toward Trump over his approach, actions and statements in trying to find the ways and means to end this tragic war (“Donald Trump reverses course on a ceasefire in Ukraine. What can Europe expect now?” Aug. 19).
First and foremost, DePetris was not in the negotiations with Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Subsequently, he does not know what was discussed or what was committed to nor the position that Putin has taken. In consideration, it is wrong to make assumptions and then cast aspersions on Trump for maybe changing his opinions, changing his mind or changing his position. It is always wise to be flexible enough to make changes when new information is brought forth, which could have very well happened in the meeting with Putin. The initial approach may have been to extract an agreement for a ceasefire, but Putin may have been amenable to a permanent solution now. Only those in the meeting know.
To categorize the mission as a failure not only is egregious, as this projection is an affront toward our president, but also, by any measure, the mission was a huge success. To take action that brings a dictator such as Putin to the table to negotiate a peace settlement is in and of itself a great milestone. To see the European leaders along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fly to Washington to collaborate on the issues involved in ending the war is a monumental success! It demonstrates that Trump’s instincts and effort are worthwhile and productive. We should be commending him as opposed to undercutting his effort.
— Dave Roberts, Frankfort
The correct phrasing
Please address two issues regarding the conflict in Ukraine: First, stop referring to this as “the war in Ukraine.” This action will always be correctly identified as the “invasion of Ukraine by Russia.” Second, it seems to me that it is safe to presume and refer to President Donald Trump as the “Neville Chamberlain of the 21st century” and to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the “Adolf Hitler of the 21st century.” These are the roles being played by both of them, and anyone who knows history should be able to anticipate the outcome.
— Gerald E. King, Merrionette Park
Trump giving us hope
As an American, I am proud to see European and Ukrainian leaders gather in the White House to discuss how to end the Ukraine-Russia war and achieve peace. Thanks to President Donald Trump for making this possible.
Ending the Ukraine-Russia war is one of the greatest challenges in modern-day international relations. Matters must be handled very delicately to ensure that both Ukraine and Russia can come to an agreement.
Trump has now met with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, proving to the world that he is the one who can talk to both sides to help reach an effective settlement. Trump’s leadership has given us hope that peace is within reach.
— Tawsif Anam, Madison, Wisconsin
The victims of war
Of the many horrible images of victims of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, two will be etched in my mind for the rest of my life. One is of a little Ukrainian girl in a video shown walking down the street pushing her baby buggy, and suddenly, in a flash, she is lying dead on the ground. The second image is of a 2-year-old girl, terribly malnourished, in the arms of her mother. When I think of the many, many people bearing these burdens, it brings tears to my eyes and weighs heavily on me.
Such needless and tragic suffering and death are beyond reason, and the disturbing images break your heart. You have to ask why and for what.
What is fundamentally wrong with people who allow these atrocities to happen?
— Fran Orchard, Naperville
Trump idolizes Putin
The greeting that President Donald Trump gave Russian President Vladimir Putin was stomach-churning. I believe that Trump has now betrayed Ukraine and NATO. He has always admired that Putin is a strongman and can force everyone to submit to his will — something Trump is now doing in the U.S.
Trump idolizes Putin. He smiles and simpers, bending in to talk to him and clasping his hand with both of his. Just like a high school girl being giddy when the high school football hero stops to talk to her.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is toast, and the world is a much darker and more dangerous place. Trump has been had. His big chance to do something really great and earn the Nobel Peace Prize, and he’s thrown it away because he has no courage and decency. He is embarrassing himself and our country by kissing the behind of his vicious, murderous idol.
— Karen Evans, Glen Ellyn
A source of advice?
So now President Donald Trump is taking advice on how to hold elections from Russian President Vladimir Putin, a man whose own track record for allowing free and fair elections is dismal at best? That’s rich.
— Jeanne Martineau, Chicago
The prize he deserves
Russian President Vladimir Putin again reduces President Donald Trump to his errand boy, shuttling him back to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump is in line for a Nobel “Capitulation” Prize, certainly not the Nobel Peace Prize.
— Henrietta Sterl, Libertyville
Censorship motivation
Jonathan Zimmerman’s commentary (“Liberals have also censored history,” Aug. 19) on government censorship was very insightful. Yet, I disagree with his “false equivalence alert” with respect to the motive behind President Donald Trump’s attempts to censor, as opposed to the motive behind censorship by liberals.
Zimmerman writes that Trump’s intent is to suppress knowledge of white racism. As is often the case, there probably is something disingenuous behind Trump’s efforts, but there is nothing wrong with an administration defending the country against anti-American ideology. While such censorship may result in the erasure of evidence of racism, the motive behind the censorship is not necessarily racist.
One should remember that in last year’s presidential election, Trump won more Black voters than any Republican in almost 50 years. Indeed, it was reported that Trump doubled his support among Black voters.
Given his ego, it is difficult to believe that Trump would want to soil his image in the eyes of his Black supporters.
Moreover, all of the liberals’ targets for censorship have not been “hateful symbols.” While many of their statues were taken down, Robert E. Lee and Christopher Columbus were not symbols of hate. Yes, there may be a nexus between their images and slavery, but that does not make the men themselves hateful symbols.
Does that make Trump’s censorship efforts noble? Absolutely not. Still, just as one should not make an assumption that all efforts at censorship made by liberals are righteous or appropriate, one should not assume that all of Trump’s attempts at censorship are motivated by malice or ill intent.
— Terry Takash, Western Springs
They corrected history
Jonathan Zimmerman’s op-ed about liberals censoring history borders on ridiculous.
An example he gives is the removal of a memorial and plaque to White League members who died in an 1874 riot that killed 11 police officers and “recognized white supremacy in the South.”
It was removed for the same reason that there is no memorial in Hawaii to the brave Japanese pilots who staged a magnificent raid on Pearl Harbor in an attempt to establish Japanese supremacy in the Pacific.
The memorial in New Orleans should have been to the 11 officers who died.
The liberals did not censor history; they corrected it.
— Jim Lucas, Chicago
Stop the blame game
In response to the article in Sunday’s paper regarding the loss of federal dollars for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (“A race to cut SNAP costs”): The Illinois budget signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in late spring includes $500,000 for Lincoln College, which has been closed since 2022. Where is that money?
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s pet project for a sports complex in his district will cost the taxpayers $40 million. And I am sure there are other line items that could cover SNAP benefits for the next fiscal year.
I support helping those in need, but stop the blame game.
— Patricia Bonk, Midlothian
The proper descriptors
President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to ostensibly deter and reduce crime in Washington challenges us to find words that extend the meaning of “chutzpah” to new dimensions. If this would-be dictator actually cared about crime in the nation’s capital, would he ever even have considered pardoning more than 1,500 convicted insurrectionists connected with the events of Jan. 6, 2021, surely the largest crime scene in Washington’s history? Not even the word “super-chutzpah” can quite describe the level of audacious hypocrisy represented in this latest maneuver to assert unwarranted authority.
Our language fails us for now, but perhaps we can still find a new word that will rise to the occasion.
— James Schwab, Chicago
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
