By: Margo Rawlings

Editor-in-Chief

One of many causes that Donald Trump, JD Vance, and other conservatives have rallied their supporters around has been the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. A long-time core conservative value, Republicans have often criticized the left’s censoring of certain speech, championing the need to loosen restrictions on First Amendment rights. Allowing unpopular, disfavored speech has been a fundamental aspect of American culture and an integral part of our democracy. Following his return to office, President Trump abandoned one of the central causes he campaigned on by punishing individuals and organizations that criticize him. This suppression is an alarming Orwellian parallel that Americans must challenge. 

In January, Trump signed Executive Order 14149, Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship, which suggested his intent to protect free speech. However, his subsequent actions suggest otherwise. The current administration believes that in order to protect Americans’ First Amendment rights, they must abolish words and phrases that don’t align with state-sponsored messages. They have persecuted individuals with dissenting opinions and those who have questioned their investigations, including political rivals, members of the former Biden administration, and journalists. Moreover, the Trump administration has silenced news organizations that refuse to spread misinformation by cutting government funding and labeling them as radical propagandists, such as Voice of America, which the administration effectively shut down. Similarly, President Trump attempted to silence the Associated Press by barring them from press events due to their refusal to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. 

It is well within the rights of politicians to criticize the media, but by using government power to sideline or silence ideology with which the Trump administration disagrees and to promote its own agenda, the administration crosses a line that compromises its integrity. Restricting the right to freedom of the press opens the door to further censorship. Infringing on values that American democracy has championed for hundreds of years is un-American and does not reflect the image of freedom the United States has always upheld. Welcoming opposing views for open discussion is the basis of democracy. In fact, even Vance recently proclaimed, “You do not have shared values if you’re so afraid of your own people that you silence them and shut them up” and yet the Trump administration’s recent actions mirror this exact fear.

We must mirror the actions of individuals and organizations such as AP and refuse to submit to fear. As the people, it is our responsibility to uphold democracy by continuing to voice our opinions and beliefs regardless of popularity or reprimand. 

(Sources: AP, NPR, NY Times)