Free Speech under fire again because we need it

Remember when President Trump vigorously defended free speech — before he turned against it?

- Clarence Page

Remember how he sparked cheers when his second inauguration speech grandly promised to “immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America?”

“Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents,” Trump continued.

That was then. Fast forward to the shocking assassination of his prominent ally, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, in Utah.

Days after Kirk was murdered, Vice President JD Vance sat in as the host of Kirk’s podcast, joined by Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff and the architect of many of the Trump administration’s most notorious policies. The two men made it clear they blamed the assassination on a conspiracy of “the left.”

“(W)e have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of left-wing extremism that has grown up over the last few years,” Vance said, and “… talk about how to dismantle that.”

He added, “We’re going to go after the NGO network that foments, facilitates, and engages in violence.”

To elaborate on the Trump administration’s intentions, Miller said, “We are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle, and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people.”

What did Miller mean by “these networks”? I’m not aware of any network or conspiracy involved in Kirk’s assassination or the attempts on Trump’s life. Indeed, as Miller carried on, it seemed what he had in mind was suppressing legal political speech, albeit viewed through the prism of his own persecution complex.