The acquittal of Donald Trump

Sir, – The symbol of the Republican Party in the US is an elephant. Would it not be more appropriate that this be changed to an ostrich? – Yours, etc,

PHILIP FORBES,

Monkstown,

Co Dublin.

Sir, – The 43 Republican senators who voted to acquit former president Donald Trump of insurrection would do well to consider the words of Roman author Publilius Syrus: “The judge is found guilty when a criminal is acquitted.” Despots, bigots and racists the world over are celebrating this horrible decision. For a nation that prides itself on upholding democracy and respect for the rule of law, this is a truly shameful moment. – Yours, etc,

PHIL CUMMINS,

Kilcullen,

Co Kildare.

Sir, – Senator Mitch McConnell, in signalling his intention to vote to acquit Donald Trump on his second impeachment charge, ensured his spineless Republican colleagues in the US Senate would happily follow suit. This effort to placate and retain Mr Trump’s base for his own, and wider GOP political ends, may well prove to be the action which, more than any other, signals the lurch of the US towards a future quasi-authoritarian regime, led by Mr Trump or a Trump acolyte.

Mr Trump is emboldened by this result and responded by exclaiming that his “historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun”. There can be no doubt that he intends to drive on with a run for the presidency in 2024, if not led by him personally, then by one of his family members.

Mr McConnell, et al, will bear ultimate responsibility for having failed utterly to do the right thing, thereby limiting the capacity for this megalomaniac to inflict deeper damage on a country so riven by the trauma of his first presidential term. – Yours, etc,

GERRY PRIZEMAN,

Clontarf,

Dublin 3.