The President of the United States our role model, our leader, the most powerful man in the world stood in front of a throng of people on a recent September evening in Minnesota, riffing like a comedian.
Wasnt it a beautiful sight, he said.
Donald John Trump was describing the fact that police officers at a demonstration protesting the killing of George Floyd had fired into the crowd and unknowingly hit prominent MSNBC broadcaster Ali Veshi in the knee with a rubber bullet. Veshi was covering the rally, a protected freedom of assembly event, and was retreating from police and the front lines when he was shot.It is why we have journalists: they go where we cannot sometimes dangerous places and report back to us.
Beautiful, the President said. It's called law and order."
And the crowd cheered his remarks.They cheered the shooting of an American journalist. A few days later at another rally, he repeated the refrain: Seeing the reporter thrown aside. like he was a little bag of popcornits a beautiful sight.
President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally.(Photo: [Lucy Schaly/for BCT])
Protecting the First Amendment would be this President's priority
Amid clash with Trump, Facebook should follow Twitter and protect freedom: Opinion
Coronavirus: Trump covering eyes, quieting critics won't stop virus' deadly impact
No wonder that at Trump rallies his minions can be seen wearing no masks but t-shirts emblazoned with, Rope, tree, journalist. Some assembly required. He eggs them on. He exhorts them to taunt and threaten the fake news purveyors.
Of course, to Trump fake news is simply anything that is critical, that puts him in a bad light or doesnt agree with whatever lies he floats from a disappearing virus to the myth of his business acumen. It is the hallmark of authoritarians, dating back to the Kings of Europe who would cut off the hands of disliked writers.
When allowed, I wrote in this space in September 2018, the authoritarians, the unscrupulous in power, will try to meddle, control, block and suffocate dissent and disagreement.When you expose or criticize or give space to the opposition, you must be the enemy.
The President of the United States, running for re-election on Nov. 3, was in quarantine this week, and we wish him and his family well.But the fact of the matter still remains: He is the worst and most dangerous First Amendment President America has ever seen. He has offered a treasure trove of material for people like me who write about freedom of speech.
But for the Constitution and democracy he is a menace, failing to understand why the Framers put these protections in writing in 1791, four years after actually adopting a constitution.They knew autocrats, like Trump, would try to drown out opposition parties and shut down anyone who got in the way of their holding power. Lock up those pesky reporters and broadcasters!
As the election nears Ive looked back over the 45 free speech columns I have written since Trump was elected, and they document a growing menace, a brooding and petulant man who, as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bernard Stein told me, doesnt seem to have any grasp of the prohibitions (on his power). He just chafes against them. It is not a good thing to have authoritarian impulses. If your reaction is to put your fingers in your ears, you are missing something valuable.
What he is missing is the heartbeat of democracy: a civil debate on the problems that confront us and discussion of how to deal with them.
The first maxim of the First Amendment is that people can peaceably gather.Its their chance to yell at City Hall, to protest police practices, to complain they dont like to be told to wear masks or squawk that the Presidents maskless rallies are spreading the virus. Take to the public square and vent your spleen!And the government cannot stop you based for dislike of your speech.
Pulitzer Prize-winning editor Geneva Overholser told me the Presidents attitude toward free speech and press was truly scary.And she is right because as I wrote in July 2019, When the First Amendment to the Constitution was adopted in 1791, one of the major concerns was to find a way to stop the central governmental authorities from controlling our speech, in essence, from trying to control our thoughts.Think it, say it, publish it and you are protected. No Big Brother can stop you.
But Big Brother Trump doesnt get it. This President will kick you out of the square if you dissent from his view of the world, like the football players who kneeled in silent protest at police brutality.He doffed his presidential cap to the white nationalists but declined to support peaceful protests of racism.Until a federal judge reminded him that the First Amendment doesnt allow censorship of critics, he tried to block opponents on his Twitter page.
And dont you dare let him hear about his mistakes, if youre a reporter.The Saudis can assassinate Washington Posts Jamal Khashoggi, but dont dare ask an impudent question at a press conference, especially if you are woman.Off to the Gulag!
The atmosphere of hate against the press has been caused by Trump.When you repeatedly call a treasured, protected institution an enemy of the people, you lay the seeds for attacks on the press. When you constantly demean reporters, impugn their integrity, point at them at rallies so they can be jeered and go to war with them beyond the expected adversarial relationship you invite violence.
Trump just has never gotten it that the press was never meant to be his arm; it is the peoples arm.
And dont get me wrong, as I wrote in July 2018: The Fourth Branch of government needs to be held accountable, as do all American institutions. A little tongue-lashing is a good thing.But when it comes from the President, when it refuses to recognize the role the press plays as glue and lubricant in democracy and when it seeks to undermine the legitimacy of the institution of journalism, it is beyond worrisome it reeks of dangerous authoritarianism.
But that is what we have: a dangerous authoritarian who seeks to stifle dissenting voices, intimidate critics, discredit the press, hide his personal and governmental activities even during his health crisis and ignore that the Constitutions First Amendment insures that a democratic society have uncensored debate and discussion in order to be self-governing.
When you use the bully pulpit to promote a climate of violence against one of the most vital institutions protecting our liberties, you need to be held accountable. And you need to be denied that bully pulpit.I wrote those words in July of 2018. Now the time has come:Throw the bully, Donald John Trump, out of the pulpit.
Rob Miraldis writings on the First Amendment have won numerous state and national awards.He teaches journalism at SUNY New Paltz. Twitter @miral98 and e-mail miral98@aol.com.
Read or Share this story: https://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/opinion/2020/10/07/vote-trump-vote-against-first-amendment/5905998002/
See original here:
A vote for Trump is a vote against the First Amendment - Poughkeepsie Journal
- Senate Passes TikTok Ban Bill, Setting Up Legal Battle Between App and U.S. on First Amendment Issues - Variety - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- How the TikTok ban could survive a court challenge - Platformer - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Senate Passes TikTok Ban Bill, Setting Up Legal Battle Between App and U.S. on First Amendment Issues - AOL - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Mayor and Police Chief of Missouri City in First Amendment ... - Law.com - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Get the Facts: How far does the First Amendment go? - WMTW Portland - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Say 'Yes' to the First Amendment Minding The Campus - Minding The Campus - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Civics lesson: First Amendment rights are broad, but there are limits - Tennessean - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- SCOTUS won't review decision that ratchets up legal risk at protests - Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- NPR Against the First Amendment - The New York Sun - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- NPR boss once called the First Amendment a 'challenge' and 'reverence for the truth' a distraction - Fox News - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Here are the winners of the inaugural Poynter Journalism Prizes - Poynter - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Can Congress actually ban TikTok? - Vox.com - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- New Stablecoin Bill Faces Criticism for Stifling Innovation and Breaching First Amendment Regulation Bitcoin News - Bitcoin.com News - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Elon Musk's Plan To Fund National Signature Campaign In Support Of First Amendment Met With Praise - Yahoo! Voices - April 24th, 2024 [April 24th, 2024]
- Trump: First Amendment protects efforts to overturn election - USA TODAY - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- To Fight Ban Bill, TikTok's Best Hopes Lie in First Amendment Challenge - The Information - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Supreme Court must rely on the First Amendment, not its own precedent, when deciding government censorship case - Washington Examiner - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATION?: Man removed from Cape council meeting files lawsuit - FOX 4 News Fort Myers WFTX - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump team's First Amendment argument is 'so weak' in Georgia election interference case - MSNBC - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - The Associated Press - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- A national TikTok ban and the First Amendment - National Constitution Center - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump attorney says Georgia election case hinges on First Amendment Deseret News - Deseret News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Courts Should Affirm First Amendment Rights of Youths in the Digital Age: The Case for a 21stCentury Tinker - Cato Institute - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump legal news brief: Prosecutors tell Judge McAfee that First Amendment doesn't apply to Trump's 'criminal intentions' - Yahoo! Voices - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump attorney tries to have Georgia case dismissed on First Amendment grounds - MSNBC - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump attorney, prosecutors spar over move to have Georgia case dismissed on First Amendment grounds - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Georgia court motions hearing today live stream - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - Bowling Green Daily News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- First Amendment protects Trump from Fani Williss election interference charges, attorney argues - Washington Examiner - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judicial Rulemaking and Lucidity: Justice Barrett's First Amendment Opinion in Lindke v. Freed - American Enterprise Institute - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- First Amendment protects Trump from Fani Willis's election interference charges, attorney argues - Colorado Springs Gazette - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting election interference charges - Southernminn.com - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - messenger-inquirer - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Lawyers for the State argue against Trump First Amendment challenge in Georgia case - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- OPINION: The possible TikTok ban is an infringement on our First Amendment rights - The Suffolk Journal - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's team cites First Amendment in contesting charges in Georgia election interference case - Times Daily - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- An iPhone, YouTube & the First Amendment: Man in St Louis tests boundaries of constitution through videos - First Alert 4 - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Lawyer argues Georgia election RICO case against Trump be dismissed over First Amendment - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Abridging, Not Coercing, Is The First Amendment's Yardstick for Speech Violations - Reason - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judge hears Trump's First Amendment challenge to Georgia charges: Watch live - Yahoo Singapore News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's attorney says election inference case should be thrown out over 1st Amendment protections - Yahoo! Voices - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judge hears Trump's First Amendment challenge to Georgia charges: Watch live - AOL - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Judge sets new hearing date in 2020 Georgia election interference case - 11Alive.com WXIA - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Biden Wants To Avoid a First Amendment Showdown Over WikiLeaks - Reason - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson raises eyebrows with comment that First Amendment 'hamstrings' government - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- West Texas drag show becomes a First Amendment battleground - The Texas Tribune - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - The Associated Press - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and Substantial Encouragement - Reason - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- News/Media Alliance Joins Brief Defending First Amendment Editorial Rights of Documentarians - News/Media Alliance - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The State of the First Amendment: Free Speech - University of Colorado Boulder - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justices Seem Likely to Side With N.R.A. in First Amendment Dispute - The New York Times - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh loses patience with the judiciarys far right - Vox.com - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justice Jackson ripped for worrying about the First Amendment 'hamstringing' government: 'Literally the point' - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Analysis: SCOTUS Oral Arguments Bode Well For NRA First Amendment Claim [Member Exclusive] - The Reload - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear First Amendment challenge to New York's financial 'blacklisting' of NRA - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- NRA Goes To The Supreme Court Today In First Amendment CaseHere's What To Know - Forbes - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear case of former Castle Hills councilwoman who claims First Amendment rights were violated - KSAT San Antonio - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear arguments in key First Amendment case challenging Biden admin teamwork with Big Tech - Fox News - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- "Black Lives Mat[t]er" + "Any Life" Drawing "Not Protected by the First Amendment" in First Grade - Reason - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - KXLY Spokane - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court hears free speech case that united the NRA and the ACLU - The Washington Post - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court Wary of States' Bid to Limit Federal Contact With Social Media Companies - The New York Times - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Opinion: A First Amendment Fizzle at the U.S. Supreme Court - The Atlanta Journal Constitution - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The First Amendment is under attack in Americas Oceania - Washington Examiner - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Education Institutions Grapple With Overlap of First Amendment and Anti-Discrimination Laws - JD Supra - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - The Caledonian-Record - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Note to Justice Jackson: First Amendment Should Hamstring Biden - Daily Signal - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Requiring ugly images of smoking's harm on cigarettes won't breach First Amendment, court says - KEYT - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- The First Amendment Supreme Court case right wingers are crazy for - The Independent - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Ketanji Brown Jackson concerned First Amendment is hamstringing government from censorship - Washington Examiner - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Justice Jackson: First Amendment "Hamstringing" Federal Response To "Threatening Circumstances, From The ... - RealClearPolitics - March 22nd, 2024 [March 22nd, 2024]
- Opinion: Sen. Chuck Grassley should stand up for the First Amendment and support the PRESS Act - The Gazette - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- The Supreme Court must protect the First Amendment in Murthy v. Missouri - Washington Examiner - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- A Hillsborough judge invokes the First Amendment in a case related to a 2022 election campaign - WMNF - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- John Stockton's lawyer claims first amendment violation as basis for COVID-19 lawsuit - KXLY Spokane - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Scientology Scores A First Amendment Win Over Leah Remini, But Harassment Claims Against Church Still Stand, Judge Rules - Deadline - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Supreme Court to hear First Amendment cases, weigh in on Texas immigration law - MSN - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- 7 Expert Takeaways As the Supreme Court Considers Government Influence on Content Moderation - Just Security - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Conflict between First Amendment and discrimination on Broadway | Strictly Legal - The Cincinnati Enquirer - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]