Have people realized the similarities between President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic and the war with Iran?
As people were dying from the coronavirus, Trump claimed that the situation was under control or nearly resolved. “It’s one person coming in from China. We have it under control. It’s going to be just fine,” he said Jan. 22, 2020. “Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away,” he said Feb. 10, 2020.
About the war with Iran, he said on March 9: “I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” even while operations were ramping up.
In both cases, Trump gave early declarations that the crisis was nearly solved, mostly ahead of consensus among experts or knowledgeable officials.
Another recurring theme is Trump highlighting U.S. power and capability. During the pandemic, he emphasized the efficiency of the U.S. health system. In fairness, he did finally realize the severity of the pandemic and consequently initiated Operation Warp Speed to develop a vaccine — but not before recommending bleach as a remedy. Regarding Iran, he is stressing the superiority of the U.S. military and the damage to the Iranian military infrastructure.
Let’s not be lulled into complacency that he is smarter than many of us who see through his bluster and ignorance about how the real world works, especially one that sends soldiers to die in an unnecessary war, forces young adults to defer having families because they cannot afford them, and causes our elders to choose between buying food and buying medicine. The Trump administration has a stranglehold on Congress, which is afraid to hold our leader accountable for the mess he is creating and his shady public relations efforts to justify the war.
The lessons we learned about what was really happening during our forever wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam cannot be forgotten.
— Carole Klein-Alexander, Riverwoods
There is no actual opposition
In a March 11 editorial (“Really? The return of military conscription is an ‘option to keep on the table’?”), the Tribune Editorial Board states that “Donald Trump was elected in part because of his staunch opposition to the foreign entanglements that consumed George W. Bush’s presidency.” Is the editorial board serious? It actually believes that Trump has “staunch opposition” to such foreign interventions? Doesn’t the board mean that Trump claimed he would avoid such entanglements during his campaign? Exactly like he claimed he would end the war in Ukraine on “day one”? Like he claimed he would bring prices down starting on day one? Like he promised in his 2016 campaign that he would balance the budget and pay down the national debt?
After all that from him, the board acts as if his claim to be a staunch opponent of unnecessary foreign entanglements is anything genuine or anything other than a cynical campaign pretense.
— Anthony Miller, La Grange Park
More appropriate headgear
I totally agree with the letter writer (“Trump’s choice of a cap,” March 13) who commented on President Donald Trump sporting a baseball cap while attending a solemn military ceremony. Doesn’t he have a stylist who could suggest more appropriate headgear for a 79-year-old man?
And also, shouldn’t headgear be removed during that ceremony out of respect? Just asking.
— Sandra Marcus, Glenview
Dealing with breast cancer
I am sorry to hear of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ breast cancer diagnosis. Whatever treatment her doctors recommend for her, at least she will not be bankrupted by it, nor will Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vilify it.
Since this regime’s slashing of health care funding, many women will not have that same good fortune and will have to choose among treatment, food, child care, rent/mortgage, etc.
— Paula J. Schneiderman, Chicago
An inflammatory headline
The March 16 Tribune splashed a story on Page 1 of the Nation & World section titled: “AP: Palestinians removed from Gaza.” This needlessly inflammatory headline creates the impression that Palestinians are being involuntarily removed. However, the article shows that a few hundred Gazans have chosen to leave the war-torn territory. The headline should have been more reflective of the text, perhaps: “Some Gazans departing Gaza.”
The problem is that “removed” implies force; it indicates action by Israel, not a decision by Gazans, and for the readers who don’t bother to read the full article, they are led to think Israel is conducting ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The story doesn’t say how many Gazans have left, but for the sake of argument, let’s say 500. That would represent less than 1% of Gaza’s population.
The Tribune should issue a clarification of the headline and give it the same prominence as the story. Future headlines about the Israel-Hamas conflict should be less inflammatory.
— Gary Katz, Long Grove
Panic over call to prayer
A Muslim man’s call-to-prayer app timer on his smartphone went off during a Southwest Airlines flight to remind him it was time to pray. He was taken off the plane by law enforcement because of this.
When the timer went off, someone became alarmed and alerted the flight crew about it. Then the crew had the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-bound flight diverted to Georgia.
The man later was cleared of wrongdoing, and no charges were filed against him.
As Americans, we have a right to freedom of religion in America. The call-to-prayer timer on this man’s smartphone said, “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is great.” This Muslim call to prayer is known as the Adhan.
One solution to the problem of passengers overreacting to people of other religions is for flight crews to be educated about the Muslim culture.
This is needed more than ever in a time of fear, hate and Islamophobia.
— Abrar Qureshi, Willowbrook
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