Trump’s surprise leaves us in uncharted waters

Whitestone: Kudos to Sen. Chris Murphy, who rightly criticized President Trump, saying, “This is the most incompetent, incoherent war America has fought in the last 100 years. And that’s saying a lot. This administration has no idea what they are doing. There is no viable war plan. They change their goals and their aims every single day. I have great sympathy for our soldiers and our military leaders. They are being given directions by a senile old man who is losing his mind. And so, it’s no surprise that this war is going horribly.”

An example of Trump’s incoherence: He referred to the offensive as a “war” but also as an “excursion.” When asked which was more accurate, he said, “Well, it’s both. It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war… For them, it’s a war. For us, it’s turned out to be easier than we thought.”

Got that? We’re currently in a war that will keep us out of a war, except for our enemy, for whom it’s an actual war — a couple of days after he said the U.S. had already won the war, which we’ll win soon, which we haven’t won enough, which is both over and just getting started. Want more? Somehow, President Businessman and his White House staffers were caught unprepared by the surge in oil prices. According to one official, “It was insane. It absolutely surprised the administration.” Robert LaRosa Sr.

Brooklyn: I’m so repulsed by what’s going on in and around Iran for so many reasons, they are too numerous to list here, but I’m also very tired of this war of choice being described as an “excursion.” An excursion is generally thought to be a short trip for a leisure activity. The current action is more of an incursion, which is typically defined as a short invasion or attack, primarily for military purposes. There’s nothing leisurely about what’s going on, and we need to call this war of choice what it is so that it can be kept in its proper perspective. Wanda Peakes

Doomed from the start

Ashburn, Va.: President Dwight Eisenhower cautioned Americans to never get involved in a land war in Asia. And Gen. Douglas MacArthur reportedly advised President John F. Kennedy in 1961 that anyone wanting to commit American ground forces to mainland Asia should “have his head examined.” The reason is simple: It’s extremely difficult to maintain a land campaign in Asia due to its vast size, difficult terrain and large populations. We learned this the hard way in Vietnam and Afghanistan. One needn’t be a student of geography to realize that Iran is nestled squarely in West Asia with all of the aforementioned obstacles. Before Trump and his “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth commit American troops to invade Iran, perhaps they should also remember the counsel of Winston Churchill: “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Mike Barrett

White Plains, N.Y.: I usually agree with Trump. I voted for him two times. But I don’t agree with the Iran war. The fighting is affecting our economy too much. The price of gas is way up, the prices of groceries are too high and too many of our brave troops are dying or getting hurt. I don’t like it, and many Americans will agree. In my opinion, we have to come to some kind of agreement that would benefit our country and the safety of our citizens. I also don’t like the answer Trump gave when asked when the war would come to an end: “When I feel it in my bones.” This is a crazy answer. Joan Cocurullo

Brooklyn: March 20 was Barron Trump’s 20th birthday. Can someone explain to me, if he truly believes in his father’s judgment and patriotism, why is he not signing up for the military in support of his daddy’s war? Oh, I forgot, rich men make wars and only poor people fight and die in them. Gary Butler

Attributes of apartheid

Grafton, Wis.: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has received strong pushback for comparing Israel to an apartheid state. Notably, in 2021, two former Israeli ambassadors to South Africa, Ilan Baruch and Alon Liel, co-authored an op-ed concluding that Israel had indeed become an apartheid state. They cite the two-tiered legal system in the West Bank, illegal settlements, demolition of homes and the forcing of Palestinians to live on smaller and smaller tracts of land. For these former ambassadors, this forced displacement is reminiscent of the Bantustan project in apartheid South Africa, in which large numbers of Black South Africans were forcibly relocated into enclaves called “homelands.” When even former Israeli diplomats acknowledge the crime of apartheid, it should be seen as neither extreme nor controversial for an American governor to say so. Newsom’s candor deserves praise, not condemnation. His words should prompt reflection on whether our nation’s silence serves justice or merely shields oppression. Terry Hansen

Middle Village: Simply said, Chuck Norris was the big deal! Robert Chirieleison

Brooklyn: Gov. Hochul is truly delusional if she is asking people who left the state to come back to New York to pay socialist handouts and bailouts. Hochul is the same delusional imbecile who told Republicans to “get the hell out of New York, you are not welcome here!” Now she wants them back, or should I say their tax revenues. If she was nothing more than a Cub Scout den mother, she would have the foresight not to suggest that in the first place. Speaking of stupidity, Kathy, pay for the Second Ave. subway out of illegal congestion pricing revenue! How does congestion pricing affect “affordability”? Come to think of it, Kathy might not be delusional, as she is a psychopath. David DiBello

Brooklyn: The mayor’s plan to end criminal enforcement of e-bike riders and cyclists makes it so they can run red lights, cause accidents and kill someone and they’ll get away scot-free. He wants to make NYC more affordable — what, by raising homeowner taxes? The only way to fix this is to vote red, because if Hochul is reelected, she is going to renege on not raising taxes. Maureen Deman

Manhattan: In April 2025, AARP, Amazon, Google and Walmart announced launching National Elder Fraud Coordination Center as a nonprofit that would bring together law enforcement, industry and government academia to strengthen efforts against fraud targeting older adults. That’s working at this time. In an interview with Brady Finta, founder and CEO of NEFCC, said the initial primary purpose is to work with law enforcement. That would include several large cases to prosecute criminals. Alan Lehrer

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