To The Reader’s Forum:

Self-proclaimed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth outdid himself last Saturday when he sought to link the D-Day anniversary with Europe’s current “invasion” by immigrants.

He berated our European allies for permitting immigrants to “invade” their nations— as if immigrants willingly elected to leave their families and friends, take long and dangerous trips over land and water to deliberately and negatively impact European societies. In many cases they had few options other than death. Much the same could be said for those immigrants seeking admission to the United States on our southern border.

British historian Simon Schama described Hegseth’s comments as a “blend of historic deafness, grotesque stupidity and comical ludicrous self-importance.”

Schama referred to Hegseth as a “comic book nobody” in calling out his “obscene desecration of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy.”

All this stands in sharp contrast to the late Republican President Ronald Reagan who stressed the importance of immigration because it serves as a vital “life force” because it keeps the country renewed, energetic and innovative.” In his farewell address, Reagan cautioned that if America ever “closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would be lost.”

Phil Zimmer

Jamestown