Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.

Apple’s biggest problem
is groveling for Trump

Re: “Tariffs are only adding to Apple’s troubles” (Page A1, April 12).

Shortly after this article was published, Donald Trump exempted smartphones and other electronics from some tariffs imposed on Chinese imports. This directly and significantly benefits Apple, which produces many of its products in China.

Previously, Apple CEO Tim Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee, certainly with the expectation of gaining some business benefits. I wonder what this “business benefit“ from Trump cost Cook. It’s cringeworthy watching Cook grovel before a president who is anti-LGBTQ+ and refers to Cook as “Tim Apple.”

Linda Sayler
Oakland

Trump deserves
his many detractors

Re: “Trump’s detractors are being bad Americans” (Page A6, April 9).

In his letter, Christopher Andrus declared those of us not fully supporting the current president as “not acting like good Americans.”

The fact of the matter is that 77 million voters supported the most un-American president in the history of this country. Not only did they ignore his shenanigans of the first term, which included two impeachments, recorded phone calls to a state official instructing him to “find” enough votes to change the results, and exhorting a dangerous crowd to go to the Capitol to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power, but he continued to prove himself while on the recent campaign trail, including being found guilty of criminal fraud and sexual assault.

Despite that and more, 77 million picked him for another chaotic, crazy term. That, sir, is the definition of not being a “good American.”

Karen Mahan
Antioch

Trump parade would be
giant waste of money

Re: “Trump administration might host a military parade on his birthday” (Page A3, April 10).

A military parade in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2026, would have historical importance. A military parade for someone turning 79 years old is beyond ridiculous.

The taxpayer’s $92 million should be saved for more meaningful use, rather than waste and abuse.

Grant Bennett
El Cerrito

GOP holdouts actually
want deeper cuts

It really is quite simple. Republicans are determined to extend the 2017 tax cuts that were proven to primarily benefit large corporations and the wealthiest of Americans. This will cost $4.5 trillion, so they need at least $1.5 trillion in cuts to federal programs and services.

Last Thursday, I read of “conservative GOP holdouts who had raised grave misgivings over allowing trillions of dollars in tax breaks without deeper spending cuts.” Today’s GOP doesn’t care at all about the American people (except for the wealthy, of course). Those Republican legislators pushing for cuts to Medicaid, Social Security, benefits for veterans, food banks, etc., all have extremely desirable, cushy jobs with great benefits including top level health care.

Sally Costa
Concord

Trump must recalibrate
his economic plans

Here in California, like across the country, we feel the impact of the tariffs: higher prices at the checkout, increased costs for local manufacturers, and retaliatory tariffs hurting farmers and exporters. These outcomes aren’t surprising — they align precisely with warnings from the vast majority of economists whose advice has been pointedly ignored.

The Trump administration justifies this economic self-harm with claims widely rejected by experts. One has to wonder if the goal isn’t truly economic benefit, but rather a deliberate disruption of stable international cooperation and alliances that ultimately support American security and prosperity.

It’s time to demand trade policies grounded in reality, not debunked theories. We need an approach that strengthens America through smart engagement, not one that inflicts pain on its own citizens while isolating us on the world stage. These tariffs must be reconsidered based on facts and their real-world consequences.

Victoria Rue
Walnut Creek

Article’s point was about
innovation and isolation

Re: “Column fails to make its point on tariffs” (Page A6, April 9).

Mr. Mauthe’s letter says that David Brooks fails to make a point on tariffs. Although Brooks’ headline was “How tariffs destroy what makes America great,” I have a different impression of the point that was being made.

Related Articles

Letters: American citizens deserve better than Elon Musk

Letters: UC, CSU must stand up for foreign students

Letters: Bay Area foreign students’ rights must be defended

Letters: Bay Area rallies prove Trump opponents aren’t alone

Letters: Sant Clara County’s transgender flag is a symbol of acceptance

I believe a major concern for global tariffs is the advantage that America’s explorers and inventors have had in experiencing cross-cultural influences. The characteristics of people who have driven innovation and dynamism include the following: putting themselves in unfamiliar situations; having a diverse curiosity; having a social range and variety of friends; combining disparate world views; and being driven toward continual growth. These are cosmopolitan traits of “daring explorations from a secure base.”

Tariffs necessarily build barriers that hinder the sharing of global ideas, and they may have an adverse effect on what has made America a leader in the world of innovation.

Richard Bartlett
Orinda