To the Editor:
Re “How Much Humiliation Can Vance Take?,” by Dana Milbank (Opinion guest essay, April 8):
Mr. Milbank describes a recent video showing President Trump belittling his vice president, JD Vance, in an exchange about the Iran war. Mr. Vance apparently just sits there and takes it.
The vice president should show some spine. He’s the one person in the executive branch whom the president cannot fire. He can’t be forced by the president into a primary challenge. He’s perhaps the only prominent Republican with absolutely nothing to lose, and a lot to gain, by standing up to the bully in chief.
While Republican elected officials fear President Trump, there are many, many Republican voters who would enthusiastically support Mr. Vance in the 2028 presidential primary — even against other members of the Trump administration, like Marco Rubio or other potential candidates who continue to do the president’s bidding.
It’s past time for our vice president to take a stand for what’s right.
Shaun Breidbart Pelham, N.Y.
To the Editor:
Given the many ways that JD Vance has sacrificed his principles, including, most recently, yielding to President Trump on the Iran war despite his strong opposition, it is appropriate that he learn a lesson from the moral courage of another Vance: Cyrus Vance, who as secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter resigned to protest Mr. Carter’s decision to attempt a military rescue of the hostages in Iran in 1980. A pusillanimous Vance should be guided by an intrepid one.
Richard M. Perloff Cleveland The writer is a professor of communication and political science at Cleveland State University.
To the Editor:
An answer to the question of how much humiliation JD Vance can take: When there is a big payoff at the end (financially and electorally, if he becomes the Republican nominee for president), there is no limit to the amount of pain and suffering that the vice president can endure.
Gene Roman Bronx
Melania Trump’s Lament
To the Editor:
Re “First Lady Says She Wasn’t an Epstein Victim” (news article, April 10):
The most astounding thing Melania Trump said in her remarks about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell was that “the individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.”
Given that her husband oversees an administration that functions without ethical standards, humility or respect for anything or anyone — including but not limited to the Constitution, American history, former presidents and the people of the United States — I take my hat off to the first lady for uttering those words with a straight face.
Judith Lessow-Hurley Healdsburg, Calif.
A Lost Childhood
To the Editor:
Re “The Free-Range Child” (letters, April 5):
Readers responding to Sarah Wildman’s essay about the Rob Reiner film “Stand by Me” reflected on a childhood that was once filled with freedom and independence. Today that type of childhood is rapidly disappearing before our eyes.
Many kids nowadays spend more time on their screens than outside in the fresh air, and constant helicopter parenting has replaced their sense of independence and autonomy, which once helped children mature and grow.
While safety and technology hold a certain place in one’s childhood, children losing their free time to play means losing opportunities to build their own confidence, creativity and real-world problem-solving skills. Childhood should not be entirely scheduled full of different sports activities and constant sources of stimulation, nor should it be digital either.
If we continue like this, future generations may never experience a proper childhood again.
Marley Hunter Austin, Texas
Propaganda? The Facts Are Enough.
To the Editor:
Re “Propaganda Against U.S. Is Alarming Trump Team” (Business, April 6):
With Donald Trump as president, other countries don’t need to engage in propaganda to make the United States look bad. They can simply stick to the facts.
Ira D. Cohen North Bergen, N.J.
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