Letters to the Editor: Ireland must speak up on bully Donald Trump
Women hold Iranian flags during a pro-government gathering in a square in Tehran, Iran. Picture: Francisco Seco/AP
Thanks to Fergus Finlay for his column on the Iran war.
Under Donald Trump, the US has become a major violator of international law — threatening, killing, and bombing those he dislikes.
Most of the violations seem to have their source in personal power surges, which the US president has difficulty controlling.
These are suggestive of significant mental impairment.Â
He started off blackmailing countries with his “on again, off again” tariffs. His justification for these was an expression of paranoid thinking.
Exercising control in situations is important for Trump, but he has difficulty doing so.Â
Hence he threatens, cajoles, and blackmails. He seems to make little use of reasonable argument. He claims that countries have taken advantage of US kindness.
The underlying truth is that many US companies moved outside the US for manufacturing in order to take advantage of the cheaper labour and facilities in other countries.Â
Nobody forced them to adopt this policy.Â
Trump’s description is a typical paranoid rant.Â
His erratic behaviour and shrewdness in surrounding himself with yes men and yes women underpins a new era of tyranny in the world.
The last time the world has seen such paranoid tyranny was probably the Europe of 1930s-1950s, and even there it was characterised by paranoid thinking and violent actions.Â
Recently, we have seen great military forces assembled to carry out Trump’s bidding.Â
To date, there has been killing and destruction at his behest.
Does Trump grieve over the loss of life due to his decisions?Â
There have been no signs of empathy from him.Â
To cope with Trump — not just in Washington but around the world — people are developing strategies to “handle” him.Â
These strategies range from flattering him, to giving him gold medals, money, rare minerals, playing to his vanity, sharing in his distorted perceptions of the world.
We see evidence of this in the cringing of Fifa and Nato — “would dear uncle Donald please consider a leasing of Greenland rather than an invasion?”
In the US, we have seen this in the acquiescence of public officials to Trump’s demands, rather than putting the public interest first.
Trump still has his followers working to find evidence that he was cheated out of the 2020 election.
The war against Iran is an example of Trump’s mental instability.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was an agreement between Iran and the US and EU to reduce Iran nuclear production.Â
Despite reports that the agreement was working, Trump withdrew US consent to the agreement.
Now Trump is bombing Iran to get its people to do something they were already doing peacefully.
He doesn’t seem to know why he started the war; why he continues it; or when, if ever, he will stop it.
If Trump and the Israelis were dropping marshmallows on Iran, many people would be speaking up for the Iranian people on health grounds.Â
But they are killing and injuring people with bombs, and destroying homes and schools and facilities, making life unbearable for ordinary people.Â
And the world’s reaction: It’s OK to bomb Iran, just give us oil.
Well, it’s not OK to bomb Iran, Gaza,Venezuela, or Cuba.Â
Those who carry out Trump’s orders to kill and bomb are responsible for their actions and should be held to account.
As for Ireland, we must ensure we are not collaborating with US, Israel, and other forces wanting to use our air space and airports to wage war.Â
Our Government must stand up to Trump and his policies and not go down the route of cringe and appeasement.Â
We must support the world-leading role of the UN in working for peace and humanitarian needs, and not let Trump and Israel sideline it.
This is a special time for Ireland to speak up against international bullying by the US and Israel — people are dying and starving because of it.Â
We have an obligation to speak up in support of international law in world affairs and hold Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu accountable for their illegal actions.
What ceasefire? “Ceasefire” is repeated in headlines and statements. It sounds like relief. It sounds like safety.Â
But for people in Gaza, there is no silence, no safety, no pause in suffering.
Life remains suffocating.
Survival is still uncertain.Â
Hospitals are overwhelmed without medicine, without electricity, without enough staff.Â
Food is scarce. Clean water is scarce. Hunger is constant. And children, innocent children, continue to suffer and die.
More than 130 children have been killed in Gaza since the so-called ceasefire of October 2025, and more than twice that number have been injured.
Eleven-year-old Yaqeen Hammad was shot while tending plants in a displacement camp.Â
Other children survive, but with life changing injuries.Â
Nine-year-old Abid Al Rahman still has shrapnel lodged in his eye, with no treatment available.Â
These are not accidents. This is happening under what the world calls a ceasefire. So again I ask, what ceasefire?
And still the Occupied Territories Bill is not passed. Still US flights land at Shannon. Still Ireland continues to trade with Israel.
Among the non-governmental organisations familiar to what is going on in the prison system in Israel includes B’Tselem, a very respected human rights group.
Over 800 children detained by the Israel Defense Forces are handcuffed and blindfolded for a considerable amount of time.
There is plenty of evidence of the widespread use of physical, mental, and sexual abuse of minors in jail.
The Save the Children Fund reported that 86% of detained children were beaten, 69% were strip searched and were denied healthcare, and some were even in solitary confinement.
Israel claims to be a democracy and upholds UN human rights laws.Â
Then why do they tolerate the continued abuse of innocent children within their prison system?
