Letters to the Editor: Trump is in over his head with peace talks, and he doesn’t even know it

To the editor: “If your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”

President Trump was a developer, so every negotiation looks like a property deal, thus his insistence on a land swap to end the war (“After welcoming Putin, Trump appears to adopt his goal, agreeing to cede land for peace,” Aug. 16). Thus he sees international diplomacy as just another golf course deal, but bigger. He doesn’t appreciate that there are actual people on this property for whom it is not only their home, but also their nation. Do they get traded to Russia along with the land like serfs, or deported like inconvenient residents in his own country?

What’s worse than being in over your head? Not even being aware that you’re in over your head. I weep for what this incompetence is about to do to the brave Ukrainians who have sacrificed so much.

Robert Huber, Yorba Linda

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To the editor: Watching our president roll out the red carpet to a Russian dictator currently facing an arrest warrant over war crimes against a free country was astonishing. The fact that Trump consistently spews hatred for the “radical left” in California (the biggest tax contributor of all the states) shows how twisted the Republican “own the libs” philosophy has become. No wonder Vladimir Putin was so joyful as he rode away in the presidential limousine: Trump legitimized him on the world stage, and he didn’t have to concede a thing.

Ken Jacobs, Santa Monica

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To the editor: Trump is a bully and is capable of significant accomplishments only if he can call all of the shots. He does as he likes in Washington because the GOP is thoroughly intimidated.

The fact that he went to negotiate with Putin without Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a perfect example of Trump’s hubris and his unfitness to lead this country. He apparently thought that whatever deal he made with Putin would be gratefully received by Ukraine. The shelling continues.

Doug Tennant, Laguna Niguel

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To the editor: The Trump/Putin “peace” conference is easy to understand when one acknowledges that it is a meeting of two unprincipled leaders: Putin, who needs to win the war in Ukraine to serve his egotistical desires of a greater Russia, and Trump, who wants a propaganda victory and a Nobel Peace Prize. Seemingly, neither is concerned about the loss of 1 million Russian soldiers or the destruction of Kyiv. Democratic principles and national sovereignty are of no consequence to either.

Robert Shapiro, Laguna Woods

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To the editor: The Oval Office apparently has a bust of Winston Churchill, whom the president has said that he greatly admires. Does anyone else see the irony of Trump emulating Neville Chamberlain more than his successor, Churchill?

The Los Angeles Times states that Trump “agreed with Putin’s demand that Ukraine make territorial concessions to end the conflict.” This approach is far closer to Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement of Adolf Hitler than it is to the dogged resistance to tyranny displayed by Churchill.

Larry Harmell, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Ukrainians have learned to be realists, but could not help but feel a little hope that Trump’s meeting with Putin might end with some positive results for them (“After Trump greets Putin with red carpet treatment, Ukrainians feel betrayed,” Aug. 16). After all, Trump told the world that he was trying to end the war.

Even those of us who have little faith in Trump’s dealings with Putin were hoping for a miracle. Many Americans feel great sympathy for the Ukrainian people and their president. With Trump’s recent popularity in decline, if truth be told, a larger percentage of Americans are probably more supportive of Ukraine’s brave leader.

It is hard to say at this point if any of the symbolism in the meeting would eventually yield positive results for the Ukrainians: the choice of location, the mysterious handshake between Trump and Putin, the secrecy regarding the future of talks between the two men, the abandoned luncheon, the brevity of the visit.

These observations did not bode well for Ukraine’s future, but there is no doubt that Trump will try to turn it into a winning situation for his diplomacy.

Lynn Lorenz, Newport Beach