Trump & Harvard

President Donald Trump’s assault on Harvard has been relentless. He has deprived the university of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal grants.

By the time it’s all over, the damage could be calculated in the billions, not the millions. All of this is punishment for Harvard’s refusal to bend its knee to the demands of the White House.

However, Harvard will survive. The pain may be intense now, but Harvard plays a long game. It has been around since 1636, and it will be around for the foreseeable future, long after Trump is a blip in history.

Harvey A. Silverglate

Cambridge

Electric vehicles

Automakers like Nissan are designing and building new technology which will make EVs and hybrids (like their e-Power line) cheaper, safer, and more reliable. These firms understand both the importance of research and development and the need to recognize the reality of climate change and the environmental crisis.

Until recently, the same could have been said of the United States. But the Trump administration’s approach to innovation in the transportation sector is on track with their response to innovation elsewhere in our economy: fear and delay. The burgeoning EV market threatens the fossil-fuel industry’s profitable grip on US citizens’ personal mobility, and as such it is the focus of GOP hostility.

Whether Nissan’s e-Power cars succeed or fail in the US market should be determined by consumers’ response to their product, not by the Trump team tilting the playing field.

Warren Senders

Medford

Memorial Day

Every year on Memorial Day, ceremonies are held at the base of the Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial in Boston’s South End to honor Puerto Rican veterans who died in the line of duty (“Our liberty is not free,” Boston Herald, May 26). This is always a powerful gathering where everyone truly understands and appreciates the value of service to this country. Antonio Molina, a Vietnam veteran who was wounded in combat back in 1965 was one of a group of Puerto Rican military veterans responsible for this Puerto Rican Veterans Memorial becoming reality. His words brought truth to power, “We are proud to have served our nation and as I tell folks, without the US Armed Forces, we probably wouldn’t be here today…We defend our liberty because, you know, liberty is not free. La libertad no es gratis. You have to pay for it.”

However, the last thing needed were partisan politicians who seemingly forgot that Memorial Day is a unifying holiday. Instead words were spoken from the podium. Speaking of President Trump’s “chaotic behavior” or lamenting “those who are trying to divide us and make claims about who belongs.” This has no place at a memorial gathering honoring those who sacrificed everything for our future.

Save the political rhetoric for your next campaign rally. There’s a time and place for everything. Think about those who died for all of us.

Remember what Memorial Day actually means for a change.

Sal Giarratani

Member, Abraham Lincoln Post 11 GAR

Charlestown