Pick on Trump day

On your Sunday, Feb. 23, Opinion page, two takes celebrated “pick on Trump day,” from your tired editorial castigating his tariffs to a bunch of Trump hate letters.

Indeed, one letter — by a Ms. Conley who claimed to be “very rarely wrong” — fostered the ridiculous notion that Trump would start a war to prevent someone from succeeding him.

While ever keeping in mind Yogi Berra’s admonition that “making predictions is difficult, especially about the future,” I’ll offer this prediction as unassailable — namely, that whatever the state of our country at the end of Trump’s term, it’ll be far better than if Harris had been elected president. In the meantime, I’d beg Ms. Conley to offer her “very rarely wrong” opinions as to which horses will win at Santa Anita, so the rest of America can cash in on her future predictions.

Thanking her in advance.

— Gregory F. Wirzbicki, Yorba Linda

Go DOGE go

For those who think that DOGE is a gimmick, it might help you to know that DOGE discovered that FEMA, with money meant for disaster relief, spent that money to the tune of $59 million in one week for high-end hotels for illegals. This led to suspension of these payments on Feb. 9 of this year. Let’s give our newly elected president and his cabinet and appointed officials this first year to begin to get our government under control. We’re horribly in debt. I also don’t believe President Trump’s intention is to send families who have been here for years back to their point of origin. These last four years have been a waste. President Trump has, for the most part, surrounded himself with very intelligent people who could definitely make a difference, one for the betterment of our beloved country.

— Dulcie McCracken, Long Beach

Debt is the ruin of great powers. Is the U.S. next?

For all those letters to the editor this week complaining about Musk and DOGE, here is a stark wake-up call. DOGE and Trump should actually be cutting more government! There has been a historical relationship between spending on debt and defense that is now flashing a major warning. Over history, anytime a major power spends more on debt than defense, it collapses under the burden of the debt. The U.S. for the first time in a century just passed that threshold last year.

— Stephen Waddell, Palos Verdes Estates