The First Amendment prohibits the government from “abridging the freedom of speech.” It also prohibits retaliation against people for speaking out, even if the speech is critical of the government. The Constitution is meaningless when our Supreme Court is in President Trump’s hip pocket and ignores its mandates. It has issued frequent “shadow docket” rulings, critics informally label as “ghost decisions” because they carry legal effect but lack full, transparent reasoning for challenge. At the same time,  Congress has been intimidated into abandoning its constitutional duty of limiting the executive branch’s exercise of unlawful and unconstitutional action. As a result of all three

branches of government failing to exercise their duty of constitutional responsibility, we have this president acting any way he wants. He freely abuses the duties of the office to which he was elected, particularly regarding freedom of speech. The news gives daily evidence of an encroachment on the right to speak freely without being punished or sanctioned.  This includes some of the many examples.

Trump has signed an executive order directing multiple agencies to target financial organizations and individuals who are critical of him, allegedly supporting “left-wing terrorism.”  These include Democratic organizations and supporters, along with prominent Democratic donors like Soros and Reid Hoffman.

At Trump’s direction, the Pentagon now requires journalists with credentials to sign pledges agreeing to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release — including unclassified information. Journalists who don’t abide by the policy are subject to losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon.

Trump has publicly called for revoking the licenses of networks like ABC, NBC, etc., that he claims are “biased” or provide “bad publicity.” Such threats are viewed by media freedom advocates as attempts to punish critical media via regulatory power. Following Trump’s direction, regulatory agencies in charge of broadcast licenses of media networks threaten to target their broadcast licenses for news and reporting that criticize Trump or his administration.

Trump and his supporters are using the killing of Charlie Kirk to justify a censorship campaign, putting pressure and sanctions on critics, disciplining employees for dissent, and threatening organizations that are critical of him or his administration.

Trump has issued an executive order to punish his enemies and directly undercut the ability of Democrats to organize and raise money. He ordered his attorney general to investigate the Democrats’ main fundraising platform, while ignoring the conservative organization to escape scrutiny.

When the U.S Attorney resigned after refusing to prosecute Trump’s political targets for lack of evidence, Trump appointed a replacement who indicted James Comey and the district attorney who filed charges against him. He has eliminated the independence of the United States Justice Department by firing and replacing its members in order to use the Justice Department as a means of punishing and silencing enemies. He has fired and replaced the members of the body who will review Trump’s planned addition to the White House alreeady destroyed by him without any permission. There is no regulatory body left that’s independent in our government.

Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and individual reporters, which First Amendment advocates describe as intended to intimidate the press and chill critical coverage.  The Knight First Amendment Institute (Columbia University) called it an attempt to “weaponize defamation law to silence legitimate journalistic criticism.”

In May 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14290 directing the termination of federal funding for NPR and PBS, citing alleged bias. NPR and public radio stations sued, as a  First Amendment violation by targeting media organizations in an attempt to penalize public media whose coverage is disfavored by the administration.

He makes petty, personal attacks with childish name-calling on anyone who criticizes him or his actions. He is particularly guilty of personal attacks on reporters who ask challenging questions. He seems to select women journalists for the most offensive name-calling and ridicule. He called one woman journalist “Piggy” and told another, “You’re a terrible person and a terrible reporter.”” It’s hard to grasp the reality of the President of the United States shouting back at a worker, who called him a pedophile during a tour of a plant he was visiting, “Fuck you,” and then raising his middle finger as well.

Donald Trump’s White House has a threatening message for anyone who might even be perceived to disagree with the president: Don’t. Or else. The president took the unusual step of issuing official proclamations ordering a federal investigation of people who worked in his first administration who have been critical. Trump did not cite any specific law they might have broken, but he did say in the Oval Office that he thinks they are guilty of treason. “He’s using every public and private means to try to attack these people, humiliate these people, get them to come and kiss the ring,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jamie Raskin in a video posted to social media.

Trump believes that there is no limit, except his own, to anything he does in his role as president.  When asked about restrictions on his actions as commander in chief, Trump said, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”  Inpractice,  the reality is that he is right,  so long as Congress and the Supreme Court allow him to do what he wants. To make the situation even worse, the Court gave him full immunity for his actions as president. His unilateral decision to invade Venezuela and kidnapp it’s president, without any notice or permission from Congress as well as his decision to kill the people in boats he says are bringing drugs to the United States, without any congressional permission, are examples of how he is without control and does whatever he wants.

This is a short list of numerous similar punishments of critics since Trump took office. If Congress and the judiciary continue to ignore the right of freedom of speech by allowing this president to do whatever he wants, particularly to his critics and to silence those exercising constitutional free speech, we will fail as a Democracy.