Readers sound off on anti-Trump GOP, the U.S.-Israel special relationship and European living standards

Republicans opposing Trump uphold our democracy

Lindenhurst, L.I.: Bravo to former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan for showing character and integrity regarding his support of Joe Biden for president in 2024. Duncan’s recent op-ed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is a breath of fresh air for independent-minded Americans who understand that we need unity over division to survive as the leader of the free world.

The lifelong Republican and conservative said, “Donald Trump is a train wreck for us,” and added that voting for Biden will allow the Republican Party “to move on.” He said Trump “caused confusion across a spectrum of Republicans to think that the louder you are, the angrier you are, the more conservative you are. And that could not be any further from the truth.” Duncan also called Trump a “fake Republican,” adding that it doesn’t get much attention. His building of the wall ended up being “a bunch of rhetoric and selfie stations for Republican governors to show up and take pictures at.” There was a bipartisan border bill passed by the Senate but denied a vote in the House of Representatives, halting a strong attempt at controlling the “border crisis,” an issue Republicans constantly highlight. The bill was a remarkable attempt at unity — the key element Duncan seems to understand America needs after the division among our citizens that’s been promoted by Trump.

Words like these, and books like Liz Cheney’s “Oath and Honor” and Cassidy Hutchinson’s “Enough,” give us hope that there are some committed, lifelong (and truly brave) Republicans and conservatives who understand that the rule of law is sacred in America. It is the foundation of our democracy, and no person is above it. Larry D’Angelo

Accusation is confession

Somerset, N.J.: Donald Trump is the perfect example of someone who uses projection. He is the worst president in U.S. history, so he absurdly says Biden, who is ranked by historians in the upper 50%, is the worst. Trump is as crooked as they come, so he refers to our president as “Crooked Joe Biden.” Trump is a real threat to our democracy, so he says Biden is a threat to democracy. The list goes on. Arthur Bressler

Unsteady leadership

Staten Island: Bramhall’s cartoon on Thursday with the walker and the baby chair should have had the caption: “Let’s get ready to STUUUMMMBLE!” Victor R. Stanwick

AWOL lackeys

Woodstock, N.Y.: Don’t J.D. Vance, Mike Johnson and Tommy Tuberville have jobs? Is this what the people of Ohio, Louisiana and Alabama hired them to do? Follow Drumpf around and whine that he’s being forced to behave like an adult and face the same consequences that any other citizen would under the circumstances? I’m thinking maybe their constituents would have a different opinion. And the Dems that kept Johnson from being tossed out on his butt might be regretting their decision. Suzanne Hayes Kelly

Hedge with hybrid

Manhattan: The May 15 article “2 electric buses set for Qns.; 58 more on way” states that the MTA’s goal is total electrification of NYC’s bus fleet. While the goal to drastically reduce bus emissions is laudable, I fear what would happen if NYC experiences a prolonged electrical power outage. Up until now, if the subway service was affected by a blackout, at least traditionally powered buses were running. I think the purchase of diesel/electric hybrid buses would be the wiser solution. While emissions would not be reduced as much as with fully electric buses, they could still run during a power outage. NYC can’t put all of its eggs in one basket! Steven Bailyn

Bucking tradition

Huntington Station, L.I.: Back in the ’60s, my dad was an FBI agent and he was very serious about not sharing his personal views on any subject, as it might appear that it was from the federal government. We kids wanted a Mets bumper sticker but he refused, stating that it might give the impression that “the government” was playing favorites. Years later, we suspected it was because he was from Boston and naturally a Red Sox fan. The point is he followed the strict guidelines imposed at the time. The current NYPD (“Probe of NYPD & politics,” May 9) should take a closer look at their own rulebook and start following it. Ann Rita D’Arcy

Foreign entanglement

Manhattan: New York tabloids keep referring to Israel as our “closest ally,” yet historically, I see the relationship as fraught with danger for the U.S. The Arab countries have the oil, and we line up as their enemy by backing Israel. Next is Gaza — 35,000 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF, mostly women and children, and we are afraid to call this genocide because that term is used to refer to the Holocaust. Genocide is genocide and can be committed by any country, including Israel. Lastly, we have corporate raiders and insider traders like Bill Ackman insisting on speech correctness on all college campuses and incarceration of all pro-Palestinian college students, otherwise they will pull their endowments. Russia and China have linked arms to bury us, and we can’t take our eye off the ball and be drawn into a Gaza/Israel sideshow that siphons our military resources. Ron Spurga

We must moderate

Utica, N.Y.: Wherever we see man-made horror, it’s the result of extremism. Hamas and the Netanyahu government are made up of extremists who will stop short of nothing to achieve their goals, resulting in the Oct. 7 massacre and close to 40,000 Palestinian deaths. Here in America, there is a similar zero-sum Republican extremist approach. No one really wants to have an abortion, but instead of dealing with the problem of unwanted pregnancies, Republicans insist on banning abortion. Immigration can be reasonably resolved, but Republican extremists want our borders shut tight. Most Americans want reasonable gun safety laws, but extreme Republicans reject any legislation that restricts guns. Most Americans want wealthy individuals and companies to pay reasonable taxes, but extreme Republicans want them to pay little or no taxes. Republicans have become a party of extremists, and that is the greatest reason we must elect Democrats this November. Jeff and Joan Ganeles

Skewed Europe

Parkland, Fla.: To Voicer Joseph Russo: Firstly, thank you for your service. Second, you state that Biden and Democrats are trying to make the country more like Europe, where there is no middle class and there is only a small minority of the rich and everybody else is poor. Mr. Russo, perhaps Eastern European countries have a relatively non-existent middle class, but as a person who has lived in Europe, for most of the population this is far from the truth. We Americans tend to believe that the rest of the world is “Third World” as compared to the U.S.A. Not true. European countries have socialized medicine, more access to education and good standards of living. Consider Scandinavian states that have the highest standard of living in the world. I think you have this backwards, which is typical of Trumpsters who drink the orange Kool-Aid. John Squicciarini

Unavailing listings

Clifton, N.J.: Being a betting man, I wanted to see the records and earned run averages of the pitchers in the sports section in the Daily News the other day. When I looked, they had posted the stats from the day before. That wasn’t any help to me. On Tuesday, I was checking out the TV listings. They had Wednesday’s shows posted. I should have stayed with the New York Post and gotten the correct info. Steve Farawell

Keep it up

Peekskill, N.Y.: Well done, Daily News — massive congrats for the second day straight properly printing the correct almanac map, MLB pitching comparison chart and TV listings for Thursday! Maybe go for three straight tomorrow! Steven J. Bevacqua

Go harsher

Astoria: Don’t you think we need stop-and-frisk again? The shootings are out of control. Young children in our neighborhoods are getting shot by these unpunished criminals who are released with no bail or jailtime. It should be mandated that a first gun offense is five years prison time. Then you would see fewer guns on the streets. Wake up, NYC, save our youth at least. Anthony Gigantiello