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Trans-athlete ban
a question of fairness

Re: “Trump targets SJSU in probe” (Page A1, Feb. 7).

I am writing in response to the recent article that discusses the issue of allowing only biological women to compete in women’s sports.

As a former high school athlete, while competing in track I managed to place second in just one event when competing against male athletes from eight other schools but my height at that time, and my marks in two other events, would have won the California state championship had I competed in the girls’ division. Would that have been fair to the girls I defeated?

The argument that “it happens so rarely that it isn’t a problem” ignores fairness. The rarity of an action doesn’t make it fair or ethical: Rarity justifies permissibility is simply wrong thinking. This is just one of many lessons Democrats need to take away from their defeat.

Tom Watts
San Jose

SJSU volleyball player
exemplifies entitlement

Re: “Trump targets SJSU in probe” (Page A1, Feb. 7).

I have to agree with Donald Trump on this one. An athlete who is male at birth should compete with males, regardless of his current gender. It is only fair.

Furthermore, in this case, the transgender athlete should have resigned from the volleyball team as soon as other teams refused to play against San Jose State. By not resigning, she ruined the season for the rest of her teammates.

It is this sort of entitlement that was one of the reasons that Trump won the presidency.

Greg Salerno
San Jose

Trump’s win doesn’t
add up to mandate

There is no mandate.

In the November election, Donald Trump won the closest popular vote since Al Gore beat George W. Bush in 2000. Why are we all acting like there was an overwhelming victory? Trump didn’t even win the majority of the votes cast, finishing with 49.8% of the votes, 1.5 percentage points more than Harris. Trump beat Harris in the popular vote by a smaller margin than Hilary beat Trump in 2016. It was very close.

Even in the electoral college, though the victory appears decisive, a mere 229,726 votes distributed between Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin would have put Harris in the White House.

Trump won, fine, but let’s not misinterpret the moment. He doesn’t speak for most of America.

Brian Schmaedick
San Jose

We must stay vigilant in
light of Trump schemes

I’ve been horrified by the recent and continuing actions of the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE.

It occurs to me that this behavior is actually a plan for the future. When Trump “compromises” will we then relax and allow future activities that are still illegal but less scary?

We must continue to be alert.

Judy Petrokas
Los Gatos

Musk, Trump intent on
undoing racial progress

Re: “Musk vows to rehire young DOGE member who quit” (Page B1, Feb. 8).

One of Elon Musk’s DOGE team resigned after having his racist social media posts reported and publicized. Almost immediately Musk states he is going to rehire that DOGE employee with the support of Donald Trump.

Yet another Trump appointee posted on social media that “White men must be in charge if you want things to work.”

This administration is going to destroy the progress we have made over the last 50 years in striving for a more perfect union, as Abraham Lincoln encouraged us to do.

Kent Littlehale
Saratoga

Trump’s self-serving
cruelty puts world at risk

Re: “Order by Trump leaves clinical trials and their patients in limbo” (Page A2, Feb. 7).

USAID has benefited millions throughout the world. The most fact-challenged and incompetent president this country has ever known is dismantling the agency entirely. Our subservient State Department claims that the agency is wasteful and advances a liberal agenda. I want them to explain exactly how combating malaria, treating cholera and tuberculosis, screening for cancer, providing nutritional support, etc., is a liberal agenda.

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Letters: Supporting Trump doesn’t make us bad or stupid. We just see the world differently than you.

On the same day, letter writer Ed Kahl (“Trump, Musk have a right to audit program,” Page A6) attempts to justify the president’s authoritarian tendencies by suggesting that he is “reviewing government spending and reporting any irregularities.”

Who is auditing and reviewing Donald Trump and Elon Musk when they are rolling back health care and endangering the lives of millions? Their plan to eliminate aid and comfort to people in less fortunate circumstances is heartless, self-serving and cruel. Trump and his MAGA followers have never learned that you help yourself best when you help others.

Jerry Gudeman
Santa Clara