Trump taking bold steps to reduce spending

President Trump’s administration is taking bold steps to eliminate wasteful government spending, including the Democratic slush fund USAID. By cutting unnecessary programs, American taxpayers are saving billions.

Wasteful initiatives like the $22 million spent on studying exotic ants, $1.5 million for a “hipster” coffee shop, $50 million on condoms for GAZA and billions in foreign aid to hostile nations are being reduced or eliminated. These cuts ensure that our hard earned tax dollars go toward benefiting Americans citizens, not funding multiple political pet projects.

President Trump was elected to make the government accountable to the American people. Why don’t the Democrats want an efficiently run government? They almost brought the country to its knees. It’s time to hold the Democrats liable for reckless spending and continue prioritizing America First policies.

— Linda L Eberhardt, Scotts Valley

Trump, DOGE abandoning sesquicentenarians

Of all the outrageous, unconstitutional and immoral actions that President Donald Trump and his unelected co-president and DOGE lackey Elon Musk have taken in this first horrible month, the suspension of Social Security payments to people above the age of 150 takes the cake. How dare we turn our backs on these Sesquicentenarian Americans? These not at all fake people endured through the Spanish-American War, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War and countless other hardships, only for Trump and DOGE to leave them high and dry in their twilight years.

I am literally shaking.

— Nick Moless, Felton

Trump and Musk are undermining rule of law

Those who voted for DJT are guilty of enabling a convicted felon to sabotage our government and make us vulnerable to foreign and domestic attacks. He is undermining the rule of law by freeing convicted violent criminals and weaponizing the Justice Department and Treasury against law-abiding citizens and civil servants. If you have been willfully ignorant of the consequences of your vote, please educate yourself. Ignorance is not an excuse.

If you voted for DJT, it is your responsibility to let your representatives know that you do not support this overthrow of our government by the unelected President Elon Musk. If you have already done so, thank you.

— Cynthia Dzendzel, Felton

In response, a not-so-pro Trump Letter to the Editor

To support those recent Letters to the Editor calling for more pro-Trump messaging I will add the following observation: While it is growing more common to suggest a comparison between the current administration and the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany (even on the local conservative talk radio shows) it is not completely fair, for while Hitler was elected initially and used lies and propaganda to stoke fear and anger to consolidate power into an authoritarian regime and foster hate toward an “outsider” group eventually leading to their dehumanization and transport to prison camps in railway cars, Trump on the other hand is using airplanes.

— Michael O’Connor, Santa Cruz

DEI? Trump should worry more about his own hires

President Trump claims to worry about the competence of so-called DEI hires. In his first term he appointed Jeff Sessions as attorney general, but later said Sessions “was a disaster, … not mentally qualified.”

He chose Rex Tillerson as secretary of state, but later said Tillerson “was dumb as a rock, … totally ill-prepared and ill-equipped.

He appointed James Mattis as secretary of defense, but later said Mattis was “The world’s most overrated general.”

After naming John Bolton as National Security Adviser, Trump said “I thought he was a very dumb person. (He) convinced Bush … to blow up the Middle East.”

Based on these choices and his current crop of appointees, I’d say Trump should worry less about DEI and more about his own judgment.

— Paul Howe, Santa Cruz

Letters Policy

Letters to the Editor should be no more than 175 words and be accompanied by the writer’s home address and a phone number for verification. Letters can be emailed to editorial@santacruzsentinel.com.