Letters: As an Irish-American, I fear my adopted home has turned towards fascism

As a man born and raised in Ireland, who lived in the United States for over a decade, served honourably in the US navy and became a naturalised American citizen in 1996, I write with deep concern about the direction of my adopted country. The United States is inching towards fascism, fuelled by a toxic blend of patriarchal narcissism, conspiracy theories and far-right extremism. Figures like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Alex Jones and Conor McGreg­or represent this reactionary shift.

Trump undermined democracy and emboldened white nationalists. Musk, while posing as a free-speech advocate, has turned X into a platform for disinformation. Jones profits from paranoia and hate, while McGregor embodies a brand of hyper-masculinity that glorifies aggression and misogyny.



Together, they reflect a broader cultural backlash against progress and equality. At the heart of this movement is deep-seated misogyny. From Trump’s boasts about assault to Musk’s disdain for women in leadership, these men champion a world where power belongs to egotistical strongmen, not democratic institutions.

The contrast with a leader like ­Kamala Harris is stark – she has worked to protect civil rights, reproductive freedoms and the rule of law, while these figures erode them. If the US continues down this path, it risks losing the democracy it once stood for. As an Irish-American who once believed in the ideals of my adopted country, I fear for its future.

Declan O’Shea, Castlegar, Galway The laws of trade, just like the laws of fire, remain stubbornly unforgiving America, once the great architect of its own prosperity, now seems determined to test the limits of self-inflict­ed harm (‘Trump lights fuse on his historic trade war with raft of big tariffs’ – Irish Independent , April 3). From wars waged on a whim to economic own-goals, it keeps touching the hot stove, recoiling in pain, only to try again. The latest misadventure – massive tariffs – follows the same pattern, mistaking isolation for strength.

From this side of the Atlantic, we watch with a mix of bemusement and concern. Ireland once flirted with economic self-sufficiency, mistaking protectionism for power. It led not to strength, but to stagnation.

It was only when we opened up to the world that Ireland found real prosperity. If America truly believes it can defy economic gravity, I wish it well. But the laws of trade, like the laws of fire, remain stubbornly unforgiving.

Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Co Armagh Abandon the free market will only leave those in the States a lot worse off So much for “Liberation Day”. Tar­iffs are a way of taking something away from somebody through the imposition of taxes on free trade. Protectionism is a sign of weakness, not strength.

Americans are about to find out that tariffs are more about fear and insecurity, and that their great consumer spending bubble, which began after World War II, looks like ending up in rubble of their own making. The only ones being “ripped off” are those gullible enough to believe that a reality TV star with a string of bankruptcies after his name, together with a cadre of billionaires, knows better than the free market. If you had taxed them properly in the first place, you now wouldn’t be in this unholy mess.

Tom McElligott, Listowel, Co Kerry If the US president likes Ireland, he certainly has a funny way of showing it Donald Trump tells us that we Irish are smart people and that he likes us. To say he has a peculiar way of displaying his affection, would be quite an understatement. Tom Gilsenan, Beaumont, Dublin 9 Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ is nothing but smoke and mirrors to fool voters Lies, damn lies and now Trump tariffs.

It has that look of sensationalism, but when the dust settles it will be nothing more than what the Wizard of Oz offered – an illusion. Liberation day, my arse. Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Dublin US administration’s war on judges poses a grave threat to the rule of law The Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court has issued a stinging rebuke to Donald Trump’s demand to impeach a judge who ruled against his administration’s controversial deportation of migrants.

Judge James Boasberg ordered a halt to the transfer of accused gang members to El Salvador. That ruling was ignored, and Trump branded him a “troublemaker and agitator” who should be removed. In a rare statement, Chief Justice John Roberts insisted impeachment was “not an appropriate response” to the disagreement, and it has led to unease in some Republican circles about the erosion of the authority of the judiciary.

The White House has also been targeting commercial law firms that have worked on cases that have cast Trump in a bad light. I am left wondering how far the administration will push this war on the law. John O’Brien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Only answer to shortage of doctors is to pay our medics what they’re worth It is long overdue for the Government to address the problem of a serious shortage of doctors in Ireland.

They need to be paid a decent salary. It is no surprise that a lot of our newly qualified doctors go overseas as soon as they qualify, and I don’t blame them. A doctor’s salary, according to the internet, is between €120,000 and €140,000.

A doctor in America gets paid around $235,690 (€213,000). A new TD, with no experience, starts off at €113,679. If we didn’t have foreign doctors and nurses here, we wouldn’t have a health service.

Time to pay our life-saving doctors and nurses what they are worth. John Fair, Castlebar, Co Mayo Finally, some good news from the White House as Elon Musk makes his exit Elon Musk is to step away from his prominent position in the Trump administration. It’s good to finally see a hint of “common sense” appear in said administration.

Peter Declan O’Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan.