Trump’s Actions Contradict His Avowed Commitment to First Amendment Rights
On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at “restoring freedom of speech.” But judging from his administration’s policies and his actions as a private litigant, Trump’s commitment to that principle is highly selective at best.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was “taking a crucial step toward keeping the president’s promise to liberate American speech” by ending his department’s misbegotten crusade against online “disinformation.” This was a welcome development, since that amorphous mission had become an excuse for suppressing constitutionally protected speech.
Still, Rubio’s ringing defense of First Amendment rights is hard to reconcile with his determination to expel foreign students, including legal permanent residents, whose opinions he unilaterally deems contrary to U.S. foreign policy interests. Although Rubio and Trump seem to think the First Amendment applies only to American citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court disagrees.
Another Trump appointee, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, likewise pays lip service to free speech while working to undermine it. Carr, like Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, seems bent on overriding the editorial choices of social media companies in the name of fairness and balance—a form of meddling that the Supreme Court has recognized as a threat to First Amendment rights.
Carr also aspires to police journalism, including the editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which he thinks is a legitimate subject of regulatory review. Trump himself argues that CBS News committed consumer fraud under Texas law by making Harris seem less “CRAZY” and “DUMB,” which he risibly claims caused 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 pre-election poll that erroneously gave Harris a three-point lead in that state.
It is hard to overstate
Article from Reason.com
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