To the Editor:

Re “Impasse Over Wall Shuts Down Government” (front page, Dec. 22):

Like a petulant child, President Trump partly shut down the government because he didn’t get the $5 billion for the wall that he promised his base. Mexico, by the way, isn’t paying for the wall. Sorry to disappoint Trump voters.

A wall won’t stop gangs from crossing the border. And there are plenty of gangs in the United States already, some homegrown. A wall won’t stop the trafficking in drugs until Americans end their insatiable appetite for them. I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

A wall is nothing but a staggering waste of resources that could be better spent on our crumbling infrastructure, to build sorely needed low-income housing and to beef up public education, just to name a few needs. Mr. Trump needs to stop shameless pandering, grow up and end the gross misuse of public funds. Is that too much to ask?

Debra J. White

Gilbert, Ariz.

To the Editor:

While the focus has been on the border wall as part of President Trump’s never-ending effort to appease his base, there is little doubt in my mind that Mr. Trump sees the wall as a monument to himself. The only thing missing is the Trump name emblazoned at regular intervals along its expanse. This is a man who measures success solely in terms of visible, tangible outcomes such as the towers of his real estate empire.