Donald Trump is many things, but a protector of free speech is not one of them.
Since the beginning of his political career, Trump has raged against the “fake news” media. His attacks on the free press are at direct odds with the image of the “free speech” president he claims himself to be. In a post on Truth Social, Trump launched into a new tirade lambasting Seth Meyers for a recent segment that was critical of his administration, and threatened that Comcast would need to “pay a big price” for airing it.
It’s hardly the first time that Trump has made threats against the free speech rights of individuals and organizations. Trump recently brought a lawsuit against a regional newspaper for publishing a poll that showed he was behind in the 2024 election. He filed that lawsuit after he won the race, on the imagined grounds that somehow the paper’s report jeopardized his win. Obviously and regrettably, it didn’t.
Hypocrisy is Trump’s party platform. He promised his voters that he would reduce inflation and put more money in the pocket of the average American, but his tariff plan and tax breaks for the rich are set to do anything but that. Trump also caused a political row within his own party, when he walked back his hardline deportation stance in order to side with Elon Musk over the H-1B visa. As the above user points out, Trump’s attack on the free press is further proof that the president-elect’s political career thrives on self-contradiction.
As this user suggests, Trump has a tyrannical point of view surrounding free speech. He recently announced that he believed anyone who burned the American flag should go to jail for a year – a free speech violating stance that is directly at odds with a Supreme Court ruling on the matter. “We gotta do it” said Trump while speaking in Detroit, adding that if anyone points out that penalizing flag burning is unconstitutional, “we’ll make it constitutional.”
As this user points out, Trump’s anti-free speech leanings are directly in line with his “Shadow President” Elon Musk. Musk has previously called himself a “free speech absolutionist,” and after taking over Twitter, he unbanned numerous accounts belonging to white supremacists and far right conspiracy theorists, including misinformation peddler Alex Jones. At the same time, Musk banned accounts belonging to journalists critical of the billionaire, offering no explanation as to why.
Like this user says, Trump thrives on grievance. His entire party platform depends on making political enemies. In order to curry favor with voters, Trump has demonized everyone from the free press to immigrants to trans people. It’s a tactic used by populist dictators throughout history, laying blame on marginalized groups in order to rile up a political base through fear and hatred.
Donald Trump continues to play upon his voters’ fears. At a rally in September, Trump told a crowd that their free speech rights were in danger. “They’ve taken away your free speech,” he said, “and the fake news is a threat to this country.” He promised them “I will bring back free speech in America because it’s been taken away.” Yet Trump doesn’t want to protect free speech of all Americans, he only wants to protect the free speech of Americans who already agree with him. Anyone who speaks out against him will become a target, and considering Trump’s lawsuits against newspapers he doesn’t like, he intends to make good on his threats.
Published: Jan 15, 2025 04:15 am