On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order promising to "bring back free speech to America." Eight months later, that promise has collapsed into one of the most aggressive assaults on the First Amendment in modern American history. The irony is suffocating, a president who campaigned on protecting free speech is now weaponizing the full power of the federal government to silence critics, punish dissent, and control what Americans can say, write, and even joke about.

It's happening now, in real time, and the most recent example should chill every American.

The Jimmy Kimmel Censorship: When Jokes Become Crimes

On September 17, 2025, ABC pulled "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" off the air indefinitely after the Trump administration's FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly threatened regulatory action against the network. Kimmel's crime? Making jokes about the Trump administration's response to conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination. Within hours of Carr's threats, Nexstar Media Group, which is seeking FCC approval for a $6.2 billion merger, announced it would preempt Kimmel's show. ABC caved fucking immediately.

Let that fucking sink in. A federal regulator threatened a media company, and they responded by silencing one of America's most prominent late night hosts. State censorship, pure and simple. As the American Federation of Musicians president stated: "Trump's FCC identified speech it did not like and threatened ABC with extreme reprisals. This is state censorship. It's happening in the United States of America, not some far off country."

The Charlie Kirk Tragedy: A Pretext for Persecution

The assassination of Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, was indeed a tragedy. But the Trump administration immediately weaponized this horrific act to launch what civil rights advocates are calling an unprecedented assault on free speech. Before the suspect was even identified, Trump blamed "the radical left" and vowed to go after "each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, including the organizations that fund and support it."

Attorney General Pam Bondi went further, announcing the administration would "go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech" a concept that has no legal standing in American jurisprudence and one that conservatives have historically denounced as censorship. Even conservative commentators like Megyn Kelly and Erick Erickson condemned this position, warning it would be "turned on you the moment Democrats take back power."

The Escalating Crackdown

The response to Kirk's death has sparked a nationwide campaign of intimidation and punishment. Pentagon officials are identifying and punishing military members for social media posts about Kirk. Workers across America have been fired for expressing views the administration doesn't approve of. Immigration officials are threatening to revoke visas and deport foreign nationals who speak critically about the tragedy.

"This is beyond McCarthyism. Trump officials are repeatedly abusing their power to stop ideas they don't like, deciding who can speak, write, and even joke." ACLU Statement

A Pattern of Suppression

The Kimmel censorship and Kirk response are just the latest in a systematic campaign against free expression that began on day one of Trump's second term. Despite his executive order claiming to protect free speech, the Trump administration has:

Targeted Students and Universities

• Arrested and detained student protesters, particularly those supporting Palestinian rights
• Threatened to revoke visas and deport foreign students for participating in protests
• Used immigration law to silence advocacy, exemplified by the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian student facing deportation for peaceful protest
• Threatened to withhold federal funding from universities over their policies and student speech

Attacked Media and Journalists

• Filed a $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times—Trump's fifth complaint against major news companies
• Initiated FCC regulatory actions against television stations for coverage deemed "anti Trump"
• Fired or pressured the firing of journalists and commentators critical of the administration
• Threatened to prosecute CBS for its coverage

Weaponized Federal Agencies

• Targeted law firms that represented Trump's opponents with executive orders stripping security clearances and federal contracts
• Purged federal websites of terms like "diversity," "racism," "climate change," and hundreds of other words deemed objectionable
• Fired federal workers based on their political beliefs
• Removed books from military libraries

The Legal Pushback

Multiple federal judges have already ruled against Trump's actions. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell wrote that Trump's order against law firms "runs head on into the wall of First Amendment protections" and appeared motivated by "retaliatory animus." Courts have issued temporary injunctions barring several administration actions, but the damage to free expression may already be done.

The chilling effect is real. Journalists are self censoring. Comedians are afraid to make jokes. Students fear deportation. Workers worry about losing their jobs. This is exactly how authoritarian regimes operate by creating an atmosphere of fear where people silence themselves.

What Even Conservatives Are Saying

The most telling is the pushback from within conservative ranks. Speaker Mike Johnson defended "the right for individuals to say crazy things." Conservative commentator Erick Erickson warned that embracing the concept of "hate speech" will be "turned on you the moment Democrats take back power." Even some FCC commissioners appointed by Republicans have criticized the Kimmel censorship.

When your own allies are warning you about authoritarian overreach, you know you've crossed a line.

The International Perspective

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the United States has fallen in press freedom, rule of law, and democratic governance rankings, resulting in classification as a "flawed democracy." Amnesty International called Trump's first 100 days an assault on human rights characterized by "suppressing dissent, undermining the rule of law, and eroding norms and institutions."

Final Thoughts

This isn't about partisan politics. This is about the fundamental American principle that the government doesn't get to decide what speech is acceptable. Whether you love Trump or hate him, whether you're conservative or liberal, the ability of the federal government to silence critics, punish dissent, and control media should terrify you.

The First Amendment exists precisely to protect speech that those in power find objectionable. When a president who promised to restore free speech instead creates a climate of fear and censorship, when federal regulators can silence comedians with threats, when students face deportation for protest, when journalists lose their jobs for reporting—democracy is in crisis.

The question is whether you want to live in a country where the government can silence anyone who criticizes those in power. Because once that precedent is set, once those tools are normalized, they will be used against everyone, regardless of political affiliation. Free speech isn't partisan. It's American. And right now, it's under attack.