Letters to the Editor | Sept. 4, 2025

The Air Force is granting full military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was killed at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, citing her service during her time in the Air Force. While she may have served admirably, her actions on Jan. 6 should automatically disqualify her from receiving any honors. As she entered service, she took the oath to ”faithfully defend the U.S. Constitution.” Yet, on Jan. 6, she marched with other insurrectionists to the Capitol to faithfully overturn the Constitution she swore to uphold.

Additionally, the Trump administration agreed to pay her family a sum of $5 million to settle a wrongful-death suit. Donald Trump continues to martyrize these insurrectionists, exhibiting blatant disregard for their actions by granting unconditional pardons to all participants. If the oath of service’s benefits extend to people who defy this sacred allegiance to our country, why have an oath at all?

Larry A. Wernick, Fort Washington, lawernick@gmail.com

Of all the unqualified people Donald Trump has chosen to honor or to serve in important government positions, naming the former “America’s Mayor” to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom may be the most egregious choice. Rudy Giuliani spent years promoting demonstrably false 2020 election narratives, filing one baseless lawsuit after another seeking to overturn those results to the point where he was disbarred from practicing law in major jurisdictions. He lost a defamation lawsuit filed by people he wrongly claimed were liable for phony election results, incurring a multimillion-dollar judgment for doing so.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is reserved for people who have rendered outstanding service to the United States and its citizens. Trump has forever tarnished it with this selection. “Shame on him” would be the appropriate response to this choice, except that Trump has no shame. Unfortunately, it seems as if he will continue his unprecedented assault on our democratic institutions for at least the next three and a half years, unchecked by any sense of decency or by his Republican Party supplicants. Shame on us for allowing this man to become our president.

Ben Zuckerman, Philadelphia

Someone in his administration must tell Donald Trump that Planet Earth is not a board game. Now, after rolling the dice and moving his chip from Canada and Greenland, he has landed on Gaza — again — where his extensive plans reflect his megalomania. Who else could, with total indifference to the suffering population, propose a total takeover of a region to develop plush resorts? If he lands in Baltimore next, for instance, will he plan to deport Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to Guatemala?

Apparently, most of his staff support and help expand his ideas. Is there a strong, rational member of his administration who can tell him to stop playing Monopoly and act like a president? If not, where will he land next?

Joel Chinitz, Philadelphia, jjchin@comcast.net

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