Trump Vows to 'Protect Free Speech,' Yet Trump Favors Censoring the Internet, Silencing the Press, and Shuttering Houses of Worship
Don't believe Trump's bogus vow to defend free speech.
Donald Trump made a lot of empty promises in his speech at the Republican National Convention last night. Among them was Trump's vow to "protect free speech for all Americans."
That promise is particularly empty in light of the fact that Trump has shown nothing but contempt for the First Amendment and its guarantees of free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion throughout the 2016 campaign. After all, this is the same Trump who favors government censorship of the internet in order to suppress speech that he finds objectionable. It's the same Trump who favors gutting libel laws in order to make it easier for him to silence journalists who write unkind things about him. It's the same Trump who wants the government to forcibly shutter houses of worship in which people might say, read, or think unpopular things.
Trump is an enemy of the First Amendment and it's foolish to pretend otherwise.
Sadly, the same thing can be said about Hillary Clinton, whose own record on First Amendment issues is equally deplorable. As I've noted before, the Clinton-Trump contest is truly depressing for all fans of the free speech and the First Amendment.
