Letters to the Editor | Dec. 31, 2025

The quiet removal of the 60 Minutes segment on the CECOT prison in El Salvador further erodes the credibility of both CBS News and Donald Trump. If there is nothing to hide — if the actions taken are defensible, lawful, and aligned with American values — then secrecy makes no sense. Transparency is not a threat to principled leadership; it is its proof.

CBS’s explanation that the story “was not ready” strains credulity. The piece had already undergone multiple reviews and revisions. Pulling it at the last moment suggests not editorial caution, but external pressure. When a respected news organization appears to yield to political influence, it compromises the very role a free press is meant to serve.

That role, notably, was upheld by Canada, which aired the segment in full. Americans have since circulated it widely across political lines. And in watching it, many of us — Republicans and Democrats alike — can agree on one fundamental point: Sending migrants, not terrorists, to third-country detention sites where abuse is likely or inevitable is not an American value. Suppressing that reality does not make it less true; it only makes the suppression more troubling.

President Trump’s actions in this matter are disgraceful. CBS’s acquiescence, if that is what occurred, is deeply disappointing. A free press is not measured by comfort or convenience, but by its willingness to report what those in power would prefer remain unseen.

Credit is due to the 60 Minutes journalists who continue to pursue rigorous, balanced reporting. An informed public is essential to democracy — and dangerous only to autocracy.

Karan E. Guyon, Kennett Square

A Dec. 22 letter to the editor from Larry Senour acknowledged the justifiable criticism of the Republican Party for gerrymandering congressional districts to give candidates favored by Donald Trump an advantage, but decried the Democratic response of gerrymandering some blue states that should equally be called out, according to the letter writer. Unfortunately, these are not normal times, and we have the members of one corporate-dominated political party whose lack of concern for ordinary citizens allowed Donald Trump to take power, and another now-fascist party that must be stopped at all costs. Whataboutism does not apply here.

Bob Jantzen, retired professor, Radnor

Larry Senour’s recent letter purports to be “objective criticism,” but is either subjective, or Mr. Senour doesn’t understand the context when he criticizes early gerrymandering by Democrats. Customarily, any redistricting is done about every 10 years based on census results. Donald Trump implored the governors of Texas and other red states to redistrict early, in order to gain more Republican representation in Congress. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did so almost immediately to assist in reducing the chance of Democrats becoming the majority party in the midterm elections and/or those of 2028.

The writer criticizes the efforts by blue states responding in kind, in an effort to level the playing field. Though Mr. Senour frames the issue as one of failed bipartisanship, unbiased readers would see the efforts of Democrats as justified. Mr. Senour failed to mention that Democrats’ efforts were a direct response to Texas’ prior efforts to unfairly alter the electorate in specific districts.

Harry Nydick, Maple Shade

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