Headline Roundup • March 7th, 2025
Has Trump 'Brought Back Free Speech in America'?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
In his speech to a joint Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said, “I’ve stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America. It’s back,” but some of his recent actions have critics concerned about infringement on free speech.
For Context: Trump signed an executive order aimed at “restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship” on his first day in office, but whether he has lived up to his rhetoric is debated.
Criticism: Critics have pointed to his lawsuits against media operations like the Associated Press (Left bias) and pollster J. Ann Selzer, threats to revoke student visas based on political views, and threats to cut federal funding to universities that allow “illegal protests.” The State Department reportedly plans to use AI tools to scan visa holders' social media posts for any “pro-Hamas” views, according to Vanity Fair (Lean Left). In its first funding cuts to universities, the administration eliminated $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University, saying it has failed to take steps to address antisemitism on campus. Reason's (Center bias) Jacob Sullum said that Trump's lawsuits against media organizations are “legally baseless and blatantly unconstitutional.”
Praise: A Townhall (Right) columnist noted that the Trump era has changed online speech. “Trump’s America passes the 'public square test.' Democrats will not be kicked off social media for attacking Trump, Musk, or any of his administrative team,” he said.
The Future of Campuses: “President Trump should address campus unrest by encouraging campuses to model the freedoms America promises to protect. He can do that by pushing schools to enshrine and enforce protections for freedom of speech and academic freedom, while stressing that misconduct and criminal behaviour must be punished,” Greg Lukianoff, President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression wrote in UnHerd (Center). An editor revised and published this summary with the help of AllSides AI.
Featured Coverage of this Story
In President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, he bragged about restoring “free speech” to the United States. “I’ve stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America,” Trump said. “It’s back.”
But this claim couldn’t be further from the truth. Trump has consistently rewarded speech he likes while punishing speech he doesn’t. That kind of “viewpoint discrimination” is exactly what the First Amendment seeks to prevent. In fact, Trump’s actions run counter to the spirit—if not the text—of the First Amendment.
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Free speech is noisy, messy, and open for even bad or offensive ideas and questionable positions allowed to compete in the world of public discourse. You can say almost anything as long as you’re willing to accept the consequences such comments create. People will disagree. They may hate you, defriend you, or even attack you personally. But in America, thanks to Trump, you’re once again free to express your views.
Wikipedia provides a helpful perspective on freedom, “Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas....
Since the October 7 attacks in 2023, protests on American campuses have too often descended into lawlessness and often antisemitic discrimination. Just last week, keffiyeh-wearing students occupied a building at Barnard College in New York and allegedly assaulted an employee.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to address incidents like these across American campuses. He announced harsh punishments for student “agitators”, and threatened to revoke federal funding from universities which fail to sufficiently clamp down on "illegal protests".
