SIR – The sight of Donald Trump and J D Vance humiliating, yelling at and bullying Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House on Friday (report, March 1) reminded me of two low-level New York hoodlums conducting a brutal shakedown.
The decent part of the world is recoiling in disgust – and alarm. For Britain and Europe, the message should be clear: with Mr Trump and/or Mr Vance occupying the White House, we are on our own.
Terry Smith
London NW11
SIR – If anyone was disrespected on Friday, it was the Ukrainian president.
A fighter sat and listened to the nonsensical rhetoric of a commander-in-chief who has never served.
George Adams
Brading, Isle of Wight
SIR – Vladimir Putin has been unable to break the resolve of the Ukrainian leader and his country after three years of aggression. Yet it would have been no surprise had the verbal onslaught from Donald Trump and J D Vance forced Volodymyr Zelensky into submission. Or was that their plan?
In any case, Putin must be delighted with the help he is receiving from Mr Trump and his bullying sidekick.
Rob Mason
Nailsea, Somerset
SIR – The unseemly exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky was of course tragic for Ukraine – but it also raises acute problems for Europe, which for too long has assumed that it has a right to expect America to bear the burden of its defence.
The EU is built upon grand ideals but has a weakness for practical realities. Now the question of defence cannot be ignored. European leaders need to persuade their electorates that a switch is required from welfare to military expenditure.
Kenneth Jones
Leicester
SIR – If it wasn’t obvious before, it is now unquestionable that Donald Trump doesn’t know the difference between ending a war and establishing peace. The difference rests on justice.
Rita Paxton
Blackwater, Hampshire
SIR – Xi Jinping of China will surely now feel that he has been given the green light to invade Taiwan, secure in the knowledge that America is unlikely to intervene.
Sandy Pratt
Storrington, West Sussex
SIR – Greatness does not consist only of strength, power and wealth, but also of moral character. Donald Trump is destroying America’s claim to being a great nation.
Gordon Sigston
Sevenoaks, Kent
SIR – The sight of Donald Trump and J D Vance humiliating, yelling at and bullying Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House on Friday (report, March 1) reminded me of two low-level New York hoodlums conducting a brutal shakedown.
The decent part of the world is recoiling in disgust – and alarm. For Britain and Europe, the message should be clear: with Mr Trump and/or Mr Vance occupying the White House, we are on our own.
Terry Smith
London NW11
SIR – If anyone was disrespected on Friday, it was the Ukrainian president.
A fighter sat and listened to the nonsensical rhetoric of a commander-in-chief who has never served.
George Adams
Brading, Isle of Wight
SIR – Vladimir Putin has been unable to break the resolve of the Ukrainian leader and his country after three years of aggression. Yet it would have been no surprise had the verbal onslaught from Donald Trump and J D Vance forced Volodymyr Zelensky into submission. Or was that their plan?
In any case, Putin must be delighted with the help he is receiving from Mr Trump and his bullying sidekick.
Rob Mason
Nailsea, Somerset
SIR – The unseemly exchange between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky was of course tragic for Ukraine – but it also raises acute problems for Europe, which for too long has assumed that it has a right to expect America to bear the burden of its defence.
The EU is built upon grand ideals but has a weakness for practical realities. Now the question of defence cannot be ignored. European leaders need to persuade their electorates that a switch is required from welfare to military expenditure.
Kenneth Jones
Leicester
SIR – If it wasn’t obvious before, it is now unquestionable that Donald Trump doesn’t know the difference between ending a war and establishing peace. The difference rests on justice.
Rita Paxton
Blackwater, Hampshire
SIR – Xi Jinping of China will surely now feel that he has been given the green light to invade Taiwan, secure in the knowledge that America is unlikely to intervene.
Sandy Pratt
Storrington, West Sussex
SIR – Greatness does not consist only of strength, power and wealth, but also of moral character. Donald Trump is destroying America’s claim to being a great nation.
Gordon Sigston
Sevenoaks, Kent