10/25/2025
My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,
I’m not sure where you are right now. Maybe heading to Malaysia, maybe already there. It’s not yet tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur, but soon it will be, so maybe you lost a day when you traversed the International Dateline. I’ve never done that, so I have never done the mental gymnastics necessary to think about how that works. I hope your travels don’t discombobulate you too much.
My quick read of National Geographic/Kids info on Malaysia sparked my imagination & now I want to plan a trip there. It is one of the 17 mega-diverse countries with “a high number of endemic species, or species found only in one location on the planet.” I am especially interested in the Borneo pygmy elephant which only has 1500 individuals. If you don’t get a chance to see one, you could at least ask about how the Elephant Grass Planting Project on Sabah is working out.
Please don’t be so upset by Ontario’s ad featuring Ronald Reagan’s sound bite about the problem with tariffs that was broadcast during last night’s World Series game. Until you mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed it. Canceling your trade talks because you don’t like an ad could be construed as an overreaction. You might want to let that one go.
You also might want to pull back the USS Gerald Ford from its cruise in the Caribbean. According to the BBC, “Venezuela plays a relatively minor role in the region's drug trade,” so a military buildup there is unwarranted. We don’t need another conflict zone on our planet, so please use other means to get a handle on the fentanyl crisis, which, BTW seems to be subsiding. For example, Virginia has reported a 44% decrease in fentanyl-related overdose deaths between 2023 and 2024. Starting a war with Venezuela over drugs is not the best use of our resources as we are facing a budget crisis. Please reconsider that idea.
As you prepare for your meetings at the ASEAN Summit, please read Alan Clements letter to you in today’s Irrawaddy where he requests you “use your voice to demand the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi.” He encourages you to “imagine brokering her freedom as part of a grand bargain—a ceasefire in the civil war, inclusive elections, & U.S.-friendly resource pacts.” Forging democracy in Burma would stymie the Chinese & I know how eager you are to do that.
BYBS,
RCA
