To the editor:
Does it not appear that former President Donald J. Trump and his Republican cohorts in the House of Representatives have, unashamedly and obviously, prioritized politics over what is best for our great country, and the world, as Republican speaker of the house, and Trump sycophant, Mike Johnson, has decided to currently block a $95 billion bill that would include $100 million in much-needed aid to Ukraine, in support of its valiant efforts to repel the Russian aggressors, along with $14 billion for Israel, as well as $9 billion in aid for Gaza and elsewhere, following orders from Trump that the aforementioned critical aid bill should not pass, as Trump, unfortunately, believes that such continued chaos on the world stage helps him politically.
In addition, House Republicans, under the leadership of Johnson, also have rejected a much-needed -- and long-sought-after by Republicans -- strong immigration bill that, as was the aforementioned, passed by the Senate, as such, if passed, could well benefit President Joe Biden politically, so Trump has directed his House Republican allies to let the border crisis continue unabated, as Trump feels that such would benefit him politically,
That's disgracefully un-American.
Also, Trump recently has stated that "Russia should do whatever the hell they want to" with our NATO allies if -- or when -- they might be delinquent in paying their dues to the organization for their protection, when, in fact, there is no such requirement, and that 18 of the 31 nations in NATO do contribute 2 percent of their gross domestic product for NATO protection, as is the benchmark, with such figures continuing to increase as their respective economies continue to improve.
The recent death of the courageous Russian, and, specifically, Vladimir Putin, opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, who most are convinced actually has been murdered by Putin, has inspired the world's criticism of Putin.
Thankfully, President Joe Biden, as have virtually all leaders of free counties in the world, has strongly denounced Putin, and has committed to imposing major sanctions against Russia for the commission of such a heinous act.
I cannot imagine any other former president or high-ranking official in the history of our great nation who would not strongly condemn such horrific actions, with the exception of Trump, as the commission of such horrendous acts is contrary to our long-established tenets on which our country has been founded, making us the long-established leader of the free world.
Richard Hord
Martins Ferr