Trump’s flagrant dishonesty should be disqualifying

In the numerous speeches at the Republican National Convention, you heard no mention of the fundamental dishonesty that has been displayed by former President Donald Trump (“FACT FOCUS: Trump falsely claims babies can be seen to change ‘radically’ after vaccination,” July 16).

Please remember that Trump accused Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of fraud in the Iowa caucuses, said he wouldn’t accept the results of the 2016 election unless he won, never accepted that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and said months ahead of the 2020 election that the only way he could lose is if the election is rigged.

And now many Trump supporters say they will not accept a victory by President Joe Biden in 2024?

Let’s heed the words of Russian chess grandmaster Gary Kasparov who said, “Many parties can arrive independently at the same truth, but not at the same lie.”

— Terry Hansen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Climate solutions can potentially start with climate conversation

I reflected on the ideas in The Baltimore Sun’s recent editorial, “A cool way Republicans can lower the temperature” (July 16). There is much to explore regarding attitudes towards climate change.

Many conservative Americans understand that climate change is real. They feel hostile towards solutions proposed by Democrats rather than believing that climate change is fake. Oddly, our fears are parallel.

Conservatives fear the national debt growing so large that we can never repay it and liberals fear that our carbon emissions will raise temperatures and bring extreme weather for hundreds of years, leading to hunger and loss of life and property. Both fears are realistic — and members of both parties worry about both perils.

In 2022, the climate legislation that included the Infrastructure Act and the CHIPS Act were bipartisan and required Republican votes to pass. The intense partisan passion of today will someday yield to days of collaboration. I await that day because climate legislation so far did not yet put us on a trajectory of survival and did very little to pressure other nations like China to cut their own emissions. Bipartisan legislation is durable and lasting.

Former President Donald Trump is not engaged in climate solutions. But the bigger question is this: What do we think? What do we value? Climate change is about legacy and posterity. Like the national debt, it’s too big to ignore just because we don’t like some of the people talking about it. I propose that we engage on climate every day, inside and outside of the voting booth, using words that are about building rather than tearing down and about our shared future rather than our past hurts.

— Chris Wiegard, Chester, Virginia

Vice President Vance would spell trouble for some NATO allies

The selection of J.D. Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate may be celebrated by Trump MAGA supporters (“Vice presidential nominee Vance introduces himself with high-energy speech on third day of RNC,” July 18), but it poses a serious threat to some of our NATO allies.

The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were under Soviet control from 1944 to 1990 when the Soviet Union collapsed. They are now thriving as independent nations strategically allied with the U.S. Although these small countries are part of NATO, a Trump/Vance administration does not bode well for their continued independence.

My wife and I recently had the opportunity to travel through the Baltic states and heard first-hand from residents their fears that if Ukraine falls, they may be the next target of a Russian takeover.

During Soviet occupation, a large number of Russians were forcibly moved into these countries and, as in Ukraine, could be used as an excuse by Russian President Vladimir Putin to regain control.

Crucial to the Baltic states’ independence is strong U.S. support for NATO and for Ukraine.

The potential threat to the Baltic states is Trump’s lukewarm commitment to NATO and his skepticism toward supporting Ukraine as evidenced by his failure to endorse the recently passed $61 billion U.S. aid package to Ukraine. Vance was also one of the leading opponents of the aid package and has expressed indifference as to what happens in the war.

Surely, Putin will interpret their views as weakness on the part of the U.S. and lack of support for our European allies including the Baltic states. We are at a time when strong global leadership on the part of the U.S. is crucial.

— Beryl Rosenstein, Pikesville