Jameel Jaffer on Trump's "Authoritarian" Free Speech Crackdown

Sep 22, 2025 | We look at how the assassination of Charlie Kirk has emerged as a tool for the Trump administration to crack down on dissent and free speech, as tens of thousands gathered Sunday in Arizona for a memorial for the conservative activist, including his wife Erika Kirk. While she called for forgiveness, President Trump and other top speakers, including Vice President JD Vance and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, reiterated calls for revenge on political opponents. "It is not just rhetoric," says Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. "The president really is using every lever at his disposal to silence, suppress and even imprison his political enemies." Trump has also suggested that it should be illegal for journalists to cover his presidency in a negative light.

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I have news for you, Mr President! This side of the Atlantic, I have never heard anyone say a good word about you! Most people I have heard speaking about you seem to despise you. At best, I have heard people laugh about you! Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Perhaps it is high time that you took a long, hard look at yourself in the mirror, Mr President!

Tip: The answer to this problem is not to clamp down on people’s right to freedom of speech; but to change your yourself and your behaviour enough for people to start liking you. — © Mark Alexander