Letters to the Editor | Feb. 27, 2026

It is clear by now that Donald Trump does not consider himself to be the president for all Americans, but only for his MAGA supporters. He has sown division, not unity, which serves only to make our country weaker. Some Democrats have criticized U.S. Sen. John Fetterman for not always voting along party lines. However, the senator recognizes that Pennsylvania is a purple state, and his charge is to represent the interests of all Pennsylvanians, not just those who voted for him. In contrast, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, who won the 2024 election by less than 0.5%, votes according to the MAGA agenda, ignoring the preferences of the 48% of Pennsylvanians who voted for his opponent.

Joseph Micucci, Philadelphia

For Jews, Feb. 27 is Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath of Remembrance. On that day, we are commanded to remember how the tribe of Amalek mercilessly attacked the most vulnerable Israelites following their exodus from Egypt thousands of years ago. Memory is central to Jewish identity. During the first year of the Trump administration, we are witnesses to a relentless assault on memory.

Perhaps the most egregious example is the White House webpage on Jan. 6, 2021, which proudly hails the president’s decision to grant a sweeping pardon to some 1,600 rioters. The people who battered law enforcement officers and took over the U.S. Capitol by force that dark day are described as peaceful and patriotic Americans rightfully protesting a stolen election.

Donald Trump’s lies about the results of the 2020 election, which fueled the tragic events of Jan. 6, continue unabated. The brazen historical revisionism of what Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick called an “attempted coup,” sadly, is deceiving more and more Republicans. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we all have a sacred obligation to remember the reality of Jan. 6 that we saw with our own eyes, only a little over five years ago. Zachor.

Martin J. Raffel, Langhorne

If Mayor Cherelle L. Parker wants to succeed, and not merely “hope to boost new business and job creation” by offering “white glove treatment to companies who need help navigating the city’s regulatory labyrinth,” as she claimed in her recent Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia speech, there are several fundamentals that need to change.

1) Let the minimum wage float. This allows entry-level employees to learn on the job, then earn a raise, vs. not even being offered a job. 2) Require that every job and contract, especially those supported with taxes, be bid between union and nonunion suppliers. This boosts confidence for all new businesses and creates great competitive jobs. 3) On the first day of kindergarten, start inculcating a Philadelphia school culture that instills good behavior, manners, language, and respect for classmates, adults, and teachers. For the separate $4.6 billion in taxpayer money, our mayor must declare as her mission that 100% of our students will graduate as very well prepared for whatever the next step is in their lives. 4) Do not add yet another committee, which would simply add more employees to the 100-plus existing city departments, agencies, and committees, half of which are obsolete, meander in circles, and waste taxes. Eliminate the half-dragging anchor against the great progress our mayor wants, without adding yet another one.

These are the fundamentals we must change for our city’s improvement and for Parker to succeed. And, yes, we want our mayor to succeed beyond her wildest dreams.

Gardner A. Cadwalader, Philadelphia

On Feb. 23, Ryan Schwank, a former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyer, testified as a whistleblower before a Senate Democratic forum about the egregious lack of required training for all new ICE agents. He testified that Homeland Security has eliminated the most important policing training in the use of firearms, use of force, the proper arrest and detention techniques, the limits on an agent’s authority, and the Constitution — including that they could violate the Fourth Amendment to enter a home without a judicial warrant. Schwank stated that the training curriculum has been reduced from 584 hours by nearly half to fulfill Donald Trump’s order to get an additional 12,000 agents on the streets of America by year’s end. He testified that DHS lied when it asserted that no critical instruction had been eliminated. Is it any wonder people have been, and will be, murdered, beaten, and illegally detained? This testimony must be given before the whole Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as a more public airing.

Morrie Wiener, Cherry Hill

The recent report regarding U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement’s plan to warehouse detained immigrants is another bellwether in Donald Trump’s assault on human decency. ICE’s plans should be viewed in the context of the Holocaust Memorial Museum’s key facts about Nazi concentration camps: “Officials established the first concentration camp in Dachau … for political prisoners. It was later used as a model for an expanded and centralized concentration camp system. What distinguishes a concentration camp system from a prison (in the modern sense) is that it functions outside of a judicial system. The prisoners are not indicted or convicted of any crime by a judicial process.” The museum’s website further notes that such camps are ones in which “people are detained … usually under harsh conditions and without regard to legal norms of arrest and imprisonment that are acceptable in a constitutional democracy.”

The majority of detained immigrants have not been indicted for or convicted of a criminal offense. Most were employed at the time of their seizure, paying their way. Many of their jobs then went unfilled. Rather than being productive, they are confined in squalid conditions where healthcare is frequently insufficient. Spending an additional $45 billion to expand detention centers, with additional staffing costs, in pursuit of an inhumane policy that is being inhumanely implemented, will no more make America great than the town’s eponymous camp made Dachau great.

Stewart Speck, Wynnewood, speckstewart@gmail.com

I respectfully object to the front-page headline on Saturday’s Inquirer (“Trump slams Supreme Court after stinging defeat on tariffs”). Learning Resources v. Trump is a case of constitutional and historic significance, yet the headline highlights Donald Trump’s reaction. If the U.S. Supreme Court had affirmed the Trump tariffs despite clear language in the Constitution that only Congress can impose a tax, then who knows what other presidential powers would be exercised at the expense of Congress. The media has largely ignored the case’s significance. A reader could infer that Trump’s reaction is more important than the court’s decision. Democrats have said that if they take control of the House and Senate, then they will initiate impeachment proceedings against the president. If there is an impeachment trial, the presiding officer will be Chief Justice John Roberts (who wrote the court’s majority opinion).

Jim McErlane, Malvern

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