Opinion | Readers critique The Post: Trump is playing us by ear

This is just what Trump wants. You are feeding his ego.

Christine Matthews, Washington

“Trump makes an emotional entrance during first night of convention.” Really? That’s news now? Trump’s emotions? And not in some sidebar on the elections, but in giant type atop the website on July 15?

Donald Trump plays everybody. This is his new reality TV show. Don’t help him.

The media was partially to blame for helping Trump get elected in 2016. Please don’t make that mistake again. The stakes are even higher this time.

Print the news and nothing more. Trump’s emotions are not news, even when they’re real.

The July 17 editorial, “How to read J.D. Vance,” fashionably stigmatized Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio as an “isolationist.” Taft, though cautious about direct involvement in foreign conflicts, was not an isolationist but a realist. His was the decisive Republican voice supporting the relaxation of the Neutrality Act of 1935, allowing Britain to buy arms from the United States in the first two years of World War II. He initially opposed the grant of sweeping presidential lend-lease powers but favored loans on generous terms to Britain, Canada and Greece. He was prepared to support a declaration of war when North Korea invaded South Korea, but he opposed the war when a declaration was not sought. The failure to do so was the precedent for “presidential wars” in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, in which lack of public support gave rise to unhappy results. His skepticism as to the likelihood of a Soviet attack on Western Europe in the 1950s was confirmed when Soviet archives were opened after the U.S.S.R. collapsed.

A desire to criticize the realist Vance does not justify name-calling at Taft.

George Liebmann, Baltimore

The writer is author of “The Tafts.”

I read with interest Philip Kennicott’s thoughtful July 15 Appreciation, “Bill Viola’s near-death experience helped him drench the world in beauty” [Style]. Viola was not a familiar name for me, and I was reminded that, even at my age of 82, one can continue to learn and grow in admiration of a world filled with beauty provided by so many talented individuals. However, I was taken aback by Kennicott’s repeated espousal of living in a world without the presence of God. My immediate reaction: Where would we be without Him?

Emilie Gillanders, Arlington

I was appalled to see “Some see divine hand in Trump’s close call” on the July 17 front page. Most readers are aware of the extremist views and illogical assumptions regarding Donald Trump, now extending to “divine intervention.” The article might be of interest and even important for a few reasons, but it did not belong on the front page. It could even encourage, among some who are vulnerable, the type of thinking it described.

Harise Poland-Wright, Silver Spring

Regarding Petula Dvorak’s July 16 Metro column, “Guns are the issue. When will we learn this lesson?,” which favorably quoted would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr.:

Sorry, but the problem isn’t guns. It’s the criminal intent of the people who shoot.

By Dvorak’s logic, when people are killed or injured by a drunk driver, the car is the problem.

When people are killed and injured by a knife-wielding assailant, is the knife the problem?

In the July 15 Opinion package “America’s close call,” a roundup of seven columnists reacting to the Trump shooting, Ramesh Ponnuru and Megan McArdle wrote as though calls to hatred and violence were the fault of Republicans and Democrats equally.

Donald Trump and his followers, in speeches and in Project 2025, have told us exactly what they are planning to do if he becomes president: consolidate power in the hands of the executive, go after anyone who does not agree with them, and put political loyalists rather than subject-matter professionals in charge of the executive agencies responsible for the safety and well-being of every American. There are not now, nor have there ever been, similar detailed threats from other candidates of either party. There is no acceptable “middle” with the MAGA malcontents anchoring the right.

Barbara Meierhoefer, Arlington

A photo from the assassination of John F. Kennedy accompanied the July 16 Retropolis article, “Assassination attempts pervade American history” [Metro]. The caption began, “Jacqueline Kennedy is helped as she exits the convertible.” The caption writer should have recognized this historically famous photo of the first lady climbing out of her seat onto the back of the convertible as she reportedly tried to retrieve a piece of President Kennedy’s skull that had been blown off by the assassin’s bullet. Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent on the back bumper, was trying to push her back into the car as it was gaining speed to go to the hospital.

I want to thank Sally Quinn from the bottom of my heart for her July 19 Tuesday Opinion essay, “Love. Labor. Lost. Protecting Ben.” Her story touches my life with my beloved husband in such a familiar way. Ben Bradlee was the person with dementia, but the loved one who sees it, knows it and protects against it is also part of the story. Quinn carried a heavy load, guided by love and devotion, and it is a lonely path. I appreciate her shedding light on a journey that so many travel.

Kathy Small, Oakland, Calif.

The July 20 online headline “School turned him liberal. His mom loves Fox News. Will their bond survive?” was inaccurate, sensationalist and a shiny gift-wrapped meme for those who wish to dismantle the teaching of critical thought in favor of political indoctrination. I’m surprised this “Deep Read” didn’t include interviews with, for example, the cousin who objected to Jennifer Lindgren saying “All Lives Matter” on Facebook, or anyone at Ithaca College who knows Mike Lindgren. In a time of profound social division, this article looked at Jennifer Lindgren through rose-tinted glasses and missed the opportunity to explore her impact on those around her. I’m sure she’s a loving mother who means well and tries to do good in her daily life. But it’s not just politics dividing this family — and our country. It’s a deep rift in empathy and an obsessive commitment to dogma over values.

As a longtime college professor, I found the headline “School turned him liberal. His mom loves Fox News. Will their bond survive?” hugely offensive. After reading the article, I was surprised you didn’t go for “Gay roommate turned nice White boy liberal.”

No one made him anything. Getting him out of an echo chamber, and teaching him to think and research, led him to evaluate what he’d heard since birth and choose a different path. Thanks anyway for the inflammatory MAGA headline.

Dianne Pearce, Monrovia, Calif.

Thomas W. Lippman’s July 20 Free for All letter, “The worst ‘new word’ since Raskolnikov took an ax to that pawnbroker,” reflected a classic instance of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. Having learned that Latin adjectives have masculine and feminine forms, some bright academic coined the term “professor emerita,” ignorant of the fact that masculine and feminine in this context refer to grammatical, not biological, gender. “Emeritus” was an honorary title given only to certain distinguished retiring faculty members.

Now, “emeritus” and “emerita” are becoming synonymous with “former.” Can we expect to see “Donald Trump, president emeritus”? And, in the interest of fighting sexism, what about other words ending in “-us”? Should an ignorant woman be called an ignorama? Is a female platypus a platypa?

On the other side of the gender coin, should a male diplomat who has been expelled for wrongdoing be referred to as a persona non gratus?

Robert Hammarberg, Arlington

“Emeritus” is derived from the Latin verb “emereo” and its deponent variant “emereor,” meaning “to obtain by service, earn completely,” according to my Cassell’s Latin Dictionary. “Emeritus” as a noun means “veteran” and is masculine.

However: “Emeritus, -a, -um” is a participle and can be used in any gender. Back to your dictionary, Mr. Lippman! Nancy Pelosi is emerita.

Thomas W. Lippman wrote that “in Latin, nouns ending in ‘-er’ are masculine.” I should say that “mater” and “mulier,” which dictionaries list as feminine, are better attested as Latin nouns than “speaker.”

George Jansen, Washington

I was dismayed that the July 15 Metro article “Going strong at 275, Alexandria celebrates its birthday with annual ‘reunion’” left out any mention of Alexandria Poet Laureate Zeina Azzam’s marvelous “We Are Alexandria: The People’s Poem,” which she delivered during the ceremony.

The poem perfectly captured the character and evolution of the city, from its history (“We are the hulls of slave ships, some sunken, some buried in earth; We are the human cargo in chains that built this historic city; We embody 275 years of both struggle and rebirth”) to its present (“Our diverse city is a rock with striations, a rainbow, a fabric of many colors; We’re united by living and giving, a search for meaning that never wanes”). It recalled with love and humor some bits of recent history: “We’ve been known to declare our love with a towering hot pink neon sign; Heavy rains visit us each year, flooding pipes to push sewage into the river; So we brought a massive drill and called it Hazel to dig tunnels and make the water fine.”

It was a missed opportunity to highlight the writing of a wonderful poet.

Kathryn Drinkard, Springfield

Regarding the July 13 front-page article “Maryland invented the orange crush. Now Delaware is claiming it.”:

On our visits, my wife and I enjoy some of Ocean City’s many summer offerings: the beach, fishing, great food, amusements, steamed crabs, etc. But the one must-go destination for us is the Harborside Bar & Grill. There, we meet with locals, have lunch and enjoy the original orange crush cocktail, which was invented there.

Shame on the state of Delaware for trying to steal one of Maryland’s great libations by making it Delaware’s official state cocktail. Fight on, Sen. Chris Van Hollen. We Maryland patriots stand firmly against Delaware’s liquid transgression.

I salute Harborside with a glass of the original orange crush and enclose my comic interpretation of this topic.

Donald V. Castronova, Jarrettsville, Md.

I appreciated Sally Jenkins’s July 14 Sports column, “Gatorade is allowing banned teen to take heat,” concerning Texas A&M freshman — and would-be Olympian — Issam Asinga and his contaminated Gatorade gummies. The World Anti-Doping Agency should read Jenkins’s account carefully and reinstate Asinga. WADA has a lot to be embarrassed about and perhaps even ashamed of, such as the secret clearance of 23 Chinese swimmers, including Olympic gold medalists, who tested positive for a banned substance.

Gerry O’Brien, Arlington

The blurb on the July 18 Weather page read: “Drier air to move in … can’t rule out an isolated shower or storm, especially south and east of D.C.”

The text read: “Drier air to move in … can’t rule out an isolated shower or storm, especially south and east of D.C.”

Was this written by a hallucinating AI bot?

Philip Young, Chevy Chase

Today, I saw your new AI-driven Climate Answers feature, and I have to admit I’m completely mystified.

The Post has extensively covered the energy crises created or exacerbated by the massive electricity needs of artificial-intelligence data centers, as well as the outsize demand for water to cool these facilities. And clearly The Post understands the threat of climate change, as you’ve reported extensively on that as well. So why undermine your own coverage, and the environmental concerns around AI proliferation, by parading out a feature that flies directly in the face of both?

AI models — or, more accurately, large language models — are snake oil. Given your publication’s reputation, I suspect most of your staffers understand this. But rather than continue shining a light on the hidden costs of this tech industry debacle, The Post has chosen to join the medicine show.

Karyl Gilbertson, Dawson Creek, B.C.