“As governor, I pledge to do everything I can to protect the First Amendment in Alaska,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy wrote in a tribute to Charlie Kirk. “We will not shy away from difficult conversations, and we will not silence those we disagree with.”
Not long after that was published, President Donald Trump began a concerted effort to suppress the free speech rights of many Americans. And Dunleavy stood down.
Attorney General Pam Bondi kicked off Trump’s attack by stating the Department of Justice “will absolutely target” people for “targeting anyone with hate speech.”
The next day, ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked Trump about her remarks, noting that “a lot of your allies say hate speech is free speech.”
That included House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Senior Fox News analyst Brit Hume summed it up best — “so-called ‘hate speech,’ repulsive though it may be, is protected by the First Amendment.” Bondi “should know this.”
Their opinions meant nothing to Trump. He told Karl that Bondi will “probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly.”
Two days later, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned ABC that they needed to take action against Jimmy Kimmel.
Since 2018, Trump has complained about the comedian’s criticism of him. His offense last week was mistakenly inferring that Kirk’s assassin was influenced by the MAGA movement. ABC responded to Carr’s veiled threat by immediately suspending his show. Trump celebrated and called on NBC to cancel the shows of two other late night comedians who frequently criticize him.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was one of the few reliable Trump supporters in Congress who stood up for the First Amendment. He’s not a fan of Kimmel’s, but still said it’s “unbelievably dangerous” for the government “to threaten to take you off air if we don’t like what you’re saying.”
Trump doubled down. After ABC lifted the suspension, he accused Kimmel of being an arm of the Democratic National Committee, suggested his speech constituted an illegal campaign contribution, and threatened the network again.
In between all that, Trump sued the New York Times, along with Penguin Random House and five of their writers for $15 billion. The complaint states “the Times has become a leading, and unapologetic, purveyor of falsehoods against President Trump.” And referred to the Editorial Board’s endorsement of Kamala Harris last year as “deranged.”
“Most notably,” the Editorial Board wrote in that endorsement, Trump “systematically undermined public confidence in the result of the 2020 election and then attempted to overturn it — an effort that culminated in an insurrection at the Capitol to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power.”
That’s neither a falsehood nor an opinion. It’s a truth Trump promised to erase from American history.
“WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law,” he posted on Truth Social last September, adding they’d be subjected to “long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again.”
But after eight months in office, he’s got nothing to show for it.
Joe Rogan knows why. A year ago, the very popular podcaster with a large MAGA following asked Trump to explain how he was “robbed” in 2020. Instead of answering, Trump replied that some other time he “would bring in papers that you would not believe. So many different papers” proving that he won the election.
“I don’t think they have any evidence,” Rogan conceded last month. He’s also slammed Trump for claiming the controversy over the Epstein files is a “Democratic hoax.”
With influencers like Rogan suggesting his audience shouldn’t believe him anymore, Trump is desperate to prosecute someone. In a message to Bondi last weekend, he said she should go after three individuals over minor allegations unrelated to either case.
“We can’t delay any longer,” he wrote, “it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”
That’s what he deserves for building his political persona on a bed of lies. Using the power of the presidency to censor anyone who recognizes that is not only un-American, it’s an act of utter cowardice.
As for Dunleavy, he can choose to stand tall in defense of the First Amendment. Or continue to hide in the shadow of Trump’s lawless attack on our most cherished rights.
• Rich Moniak is a Juneau resident and retired civil engineer with more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector. Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.
