Letters to the Editor: Americans aren't wanted in Europe. We can thank Trump for this embarrassment

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
In this May 9, 2017 photo, U.S. passports lie on a table in Dallas, Texas. The U.S. State Department is in the middle of a record year for processing passport applications, with 20.5 million renewals and applications for new passports expected. Adult U.S. passports must be renewed every 10 years, and the 2017 surge comes a decade after a law went into effect requiring passports for U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Benny Snyder)
With the European Union moving toward reopening its external borders on July 1, travelers from the United States could be among those excluded over coronavirus concerns. (Benny Snyder / Associated Press)

To the editor: It's all but certain that on July 1, Americans will be banned from entering the European Union. I commend those countries for placing the interests of their citizens ahead of economic concerns.

It's too bad we can't say the same for the Trump administration. The United States has had more than 120,000 deaths because of COVID-19, and we are approaching 2.5 million confirmed cases.

But for the acute level of presidential malfeasance, the aforementioned statistics would have been dramatically smaller, and many Americans would be preparing for their summer trips to Europe right now. The moral and intellectual bankruptcy of President Trump is there for anyone to see.

Bob Teigan, Santa Susana

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To the editor: We're in the weeds of a pandemic, and we have no strategy in place to get us out. The European Union will soon say to us, "Stay home, Americans. We don't want you here."

Since we've won the prize of having the most infections and deaths on the planet, shouldn't we rename this pathogen the "Trump virus"?

James Boyd, Tustin

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To the editor: The claim of the administration that it is not trying to slow down testing is obviously not true. In fact, it is doing so in an underhanded way by cutting federal funding for testing, knowing that state budgets are stretched to the limit.

At a time when the virus is roaring back, this is blatantly irresponsible and precisely what is causing the rest of the world to decide we are a nation not to be trusted and whose citizens cannot be allowed to cross their borders.

Barbara Wilson, Altadena