Sir, – Meghan Kelly's first defence of Donald Trump's brand of Republicanism is a paean to the merits of "small government" ("Why don't you Irish get Donald Trump?", Opinion & Analysis, June 16th). The author tells us that "more government bureaucracy does not make people better-off". In the same breath, however, we are told that law enforcement, border patrol, immigration regulations and "hard power" are at the core of what it means to be a Republican. In that context, it must be realised by the Republican party that, of the $3.65 trillion federal budget for 2015, $620 billion was spent on defence and overseas operations – by far the largest item of expenditure. This does not take account of the further $53 billion spent on federal law enforcement.
The police on the streets; the soldiers, sailors and airmen fighting the wars abroad; and the diplomats who deal with Iran, Russia and Libya (including those killed in Benghazi) are all employees of the government which the author decries. The Internal Revenue Service that so irks the Republican base is the mechanism for collecting the staggering sums of money needed to fund the worldwide “American hegemony” that your guest columnist espouses. The claim that America is still needed as a superpower because “Europe is not resourced enough” sits ill with a call for the state to shrink, to collect less taxes, and to become less involved in our lives.
The American right needs to realise that, far from being the enemy, big government is exactly what it wants. – Yours, etc,
CATHAL MALONE,
Carrigaline, Co Cork.