To the Editor:

Re “U.S. Limits Travel After W.H.O. Cites Pandemic” (front page, March 12):

Even if we allow for the factual mistakes President Trump made in his speech Wednesday night, the most devastating takeaway was that the man read from a teleprompter without emotion. He did not appear to relate to or empathize with the American people.

Americans craved a little compassion and reassurance from their leader. They did not need to hear that it was a “foreign virus.”

Mr. Trump is incapable of compassion. Too bad for our Republic.

Merritt H. Cohen

East Hanover, N.J.

To the Editor:

Is the exemption of Britain from the travel ban due to President Trump’s admiration for Boris Johnson, his support for Brexit or, most important, his business ventures — i.e., hotels and golf course in Scotland and ties to British banks? Coronavirus will not be stopped from crossing the English Channel, and therefore the reason has to be embedded in the president’s self-interest and wedded to his animosity toward the European Union.

Gilbert Whisnant

Jamestown, N.C.

To the Editor:

Surely the most overworked phrase of the week is “out of an abundance of caution.” While the president exhorts the public to “Just stay calm. It will go away,” schools are closing, events are being canceled and businesses are asking employees to work remotely “out of an abundance of caution.”