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On his first day in office, President Donald Trump promised the American people he’d protect their First Amendment rights. But in a complete 180-degree turn, he’s instead waged a war on all freedoms.

Trump released an executive order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship” on Jan. 20, which claimed to secure the right to speak freely without government oversight or third-party intervention. But beneath this facade of pushing for uncensored dialogue, Trump is completely ignoring and denouncing the guarantees of other freedoms.

Despite Trump’s declaration of intent to remove all government censorship and restore free speech in America, he’s called for the removal of thousands of words and pages from government websites. This blatantly contradicts his desire to speak his own rhetoric freely.

Speech involving all “woke” or “left-winged” terminology, including about DEIA, LGBTQ+ communities, climate crises, minorities and more has been banned.

Trump has made several statements condemning former president Joe Biden’s administration for blocking United States citizens’ right to speak freely, especially on social media platforms. In reality, Trump is the one jeopardizing our constitutional rights in the very way he claims to have been mistreated.

In 2021, Facebook and X banned Trump, then known as Twitter, because of the misinformation and encouragement of violence he spread prior to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. He also used social media to claim the 2020 election was rigged.

After his bans, Trump developed Truth Social, where he could freely express his political opinions and hateful, dangerous agenda without being impeded.

But his rights were never threatened in the first place. A judge in San Francisco ruled against Trump’s complaints, stating the bans did not infringe upon his First Amendment rights.

After Elon Musk bought Twitter and turned it into X, he promised to reverse the permanent ban on Trump’s account. That came as no surprise, considering their current relationship, but still sets a problematic precedent. This dynamic can’t be normalized; politicians should be subject to the same rules as civilians.

Trump forgets that the First Amendment extends beyond just freedom of speech.

Two weeks ago, Trump posted on Truth Social that he’d stop all federal funding for any schools that allow “illegal” protests. Trump threatened international students exercising their rights to assembly with being sent back to their country of origin “permanently.” American student allies could face consequences too.

This is an absolute infringement of First Amendment rights granted by the Constitution to every American citizen. This isn’t something we can dismiss. Trump doesn’t have the power to dismantle our constitutionally granted freedoms. His complete ignorance of these freedoms demonstrates a total disregard for maintaining any sense of democracy.

He’s also threatening the freedom of religion through another executive order titled “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.” This plan attacks reproductive freedom and transgender people and defends discriminatory policies under the guise of advocating for religious freedom.

Trump also started to restrict the freedom of the press by handpicking which reporters he’ll allow into the press pool at the White House. This means the president will control which reporters will ask questions, which undoubtedly leads to unprecedented levels of bias against media members covering the White House.

If only certain channels receive direct access to information, reporters Trump can’t produce accurate, necessary coverage at a level equal to those from outlets he prefers or that support him.

As one of the most selfish and hypocritical politicians, Trump believes that anything directly targeting him is fraudulent or rigged. Yet if the roles are reversed, there’s no problem.

He believes X infringed on his First Amendment rights when he was removed from the app for spreading misinformation and that social media tries to punish conservative ideals. Still, he thinks he should be allowed to ban words surrounding progressive ideals and gloss over obvious infringement as if it isn’t happening.

He’s determined to eradicate words themselves, deeming them “immoral and illegal” — when in reality they’re fundamental American rights.

Not only has Trump attempted to strip freedoms granted by the First Amendment, but he believes he’s above the law and government. Our executive branch isn’t a haven for hypocrisy and press stunts.

As Trump’s power trip continues, we must recognize the many freedoms at risk. His continued censorship and overall silencing of the American people will only continue to expand, and direct accountability is our only hope of upholding the Constitution.

Layla Poli is a sophomore majoring in public relations. She can be reached at lcpoli@syr.edu.

Published on March 19, 2025 at 10:16 pm