Sir, – It is unwise for any commentator to make comparisons between the enormity of what happened in 1930s and 1940s Europe with anything in the western world today, and Fintan O'Toole's remarks about those who surround the current president of the US are no exception to this ("'Adults in the room' are not the resistance – they are Trump collaborators", Opinion & Analysis, September 11th).
Your columnist ignores the fact that Donald Trump, for better or worse, is the democratically elected president of a democracy that is as transparent as any that exists today, and that the constitution of the US, the provisions of which will be observed, ensures that his tenure in that office cannot exceed eight years, even if re-elected, of which 18 months have already elapsed.
One does not have to agree with Mr Trump to realise that any methodology for his removal, other than through the democratic process, would be so traumatic for global affairs that a policy of containment until he is voted out or must leave, which is what the New York Times opinion piece advocates, is the only realistic option. – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA,
:fill(white):background_color(white)/static.themebuilder.aws.arc.pub/irishtimes/1647534191476.png)
Windy Arbour,
Dublin 14.
A chara, – Fintan O’Toole refers to Donald Trump as a tyrant. A tyrant is an unlawful usurper of a political office. Donald Trump has many and well-documented faults, but he is not a tyrant.
In November 2016 he was voted democratically into office. This November the citizens of the United States will have the opportunity to limit his power through popular elections. In November 2020 they will have the opportunity to vote him out of office. These facts do not tally with the opinion that he is a tyrant. Misusing terms like “tyrant” and making inappropriate comparisons with the Nazi regime are inappropriate at best and at worst can trivialise both Nazism and the genuinely despicable tyrannies that still exist in such places as Venezuela. – Is mise,
CIAN Ó DÚILL,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.