On the inaugural day of his second term, President Donald Trump issued an executive order with the intention of “reinstating free speech.” However, considering his administration’s strategies and his behavior as a individual involved in litigation, Trump's dedication to this concept appears to be rather inconsistent at most.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that he was "making significant progress towards upholding the president’s commitment to free American expression" by ceasing his department's misguided efforts against online “misinformation.” This change was seen as positive because the vague objective had been used as a pretext to curtail speech protected under the Constitution.
Nevertheless, Rubio’s strong advocacy for First Amendment rights clashes with his insistence on removing international students, even those who are legal permanent residents, when their views conflict with what he personally considers to be against U.S. foreign policy goals. Despite both Rubio and Trump believing the First Amendment pertains solely to U.S. citizens, the nation's highest court holds a different stance.
Yet another appointee under Trump, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, similarly claims support for free expression but actively seeks to weaken it. Much like FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, Carr appears determined to overrule the content decisions made by social media firms in pursuit of what he deems fair and balanced reporting—an intervention that the Supreme Court acknowledges could endanger First Amendment liberties.
Carr likewise aims to oversee journalism, such as the editing of a "60 Minutes" segment featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris, viewing this as an appropriate matter for regulatory scrutiny. Trump contends that CBS News violated consumer protection laws in Texas by portraying Harris as appearing less "CRAZY" and "DUMB." He absurdly asserts that this cost him at least $10 billion in damages.
Trump is pursuing a similar lawsuit against The Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer. He claims they violated the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act by reporting the results of a preelection poll that erroneously gave Harris a three-point lead in that state.
The potential danger posed to press freedoms from establishing an exemption for "fake news" under the First Amendment cannot be overstated. Were Trump’s wishes granted, reporters could face significant financial burdens due to legal costs and possibly catastrophic civil penalties anytime their work was perceived as somewhat deceptive or incorrect.
The animosity Trump holds toward media freedoms can be seen through his tendency to file trivial libel suits, his menacing hints at retaliatory regulation towards TV networks, and his contentious feud with the Associated Press. He attempted to bar them from the White House due to their reluctance to adopt his preferred term for the sea located between the U.S. and Mexico. In this instance, a federal judge stated, “Once the government opens its doors to certain reporters, it must do so without discrimination based on viewpoint for all others.”
Similarly, Trump practiced viewpoint discrimination, which is generally considered unconstitutional, by signing executive orders aimed at law firms representing clients or causes he dislikes. He ruled that lawyers from these firms would be stripped of their security clearances, denied government contracts, and prohibited from entering federal buildings.
Trump also has targeted leading American universities, which he portrays as hotbeds of antisemitism and ideological indoctrination. While conservatives may be sympathetic to that critique, schools like Harvard University plausibly argue that Trump's attempts to impose his preferred reforms by threatening to withhold federal funding amount to "unconstitutional conditions," requiring the surrender of First Amendment rights in exchange for a government benefit.
Trump's attack on "diversity, equity, and inclusion" programs also extends into the private sector. He has threatened businesses with "civil compliance investigations" aimed at rooting out "DEI discrimination," a nebulous concept that is apt to have a chilling impact on employee training that promotes ideas the president considers "immoral."
Rubio avers that Trump is determined to oppose "the weaponization of America's own government to silence, censor, and suppress the free speech of ordinary Americans." Yet that seems like an apt description of the president's multifaceted crusade against speech that offends him.
Jacob Sullum serves as a senior editor for Reason magazine. You can follow him on Twitter:@jacobsullum. For additional information about Jacob Sullum and to read articles from other contributors at Syndicate, check out their website page. www. .
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