Trump Strikes Another Blow Against Free Speech In The U.S.

The statement above was made by Jimmy Kimmel on his ABC late night show. It can be debated whether it was funny or not. But Donald Trump and the MAGA right displayed just how thin-skinned they are when they heard it.

They were outraged. How dare a comedian say anything about their white Christian nationalist and patriarchy-loving martyr! While they have been whining about free speech for years now, they made it clear that the free speech was only intended for right-wingers. They don't want anyone to have the right to disagree with them (or say anything that offends them).

And the Trump administration acted to curb that speech:

I doubt that FCC Chair Carr could actually pull ABC's license, but the threat itself was a violation of the Constitution's Free Speech clause. The government cannot act to limit speech, no matter how offensive or hateful they think it is.

But that wasn't the only thing. ABC's parent company (Nexstar) has a pending merger with Tegna. And they need approval from Trump's FCC to finalize the merger. Nexstar decided that the merger was more important than defending free speech so they caved (putting Jimmy Kimmel's show on an indefinite suspension) - giving Trump one more victory in censoring the media.

It's a repeat of what happened when CBS said Stephan Colbert's show would end at the end of his contract next year. CBS's parent company also needed government approval for a merger, and rather than defend Colbert's free speech rights, they caved to the Trump administration.

Both of these corporate moves were very damaging to the ideas of free speech and a free press - both of which are necessary for the survival of any democracy.

They also point out a problem with the super-rich buying up media outlets. These people are not concerned with providing the people the truthful news they need. They are only concerned with their bottom line -- making obscene amounts of money.

Donald Trump is always seeking more power. He wants to rule as an authoritarian (like his buddy Putin). The only things that can stop that are free speech and a free press. But he is being successful in, bit-by-bit, muting the press and critical speech. Greedy people and corporations are letting him do it, and Congress is doing nothing.

This makes the 2026 midterm elections more important than ever. Trump has more than three years left in his term, and without a Congress willing to rein him in, he could finally become the tyrant he wants to be.