SARAH CAULDER / DAILY NEXUS

For a man obsessed with people who talk about him, it seems surprising how far 45th and 47th United States President Donald Trump will go to stifle speech that mentions him. On the other hand, his narcissism and fragile ego precedes him — to the point of fighting free speech.

From the beginning of Trump’s re-entry into the White House in 2025, he made it clear that he had scores to settle. Not just with political opponents, but with journalists, comedians, late-night hosts and anyone else who publicly mocked or criticized him. A leader who punishes those who speak against him? As Taylor Swift has said: “I think I’ve seen this film before / And I didn’t like the ending.”

In Trump’s first presidential term, he often made public, verbal attacks on journalists who dared to speak ill of him. While in office, he never attended the White House Correspondents’ dinner, the annual gala supporting journalists who cover the President. He declared trusted news outlets as “fake news,” turning his supporters to outlets churning out extremist, often false viewpoints. Now, back for his second term with seemingly even more angst for the media, Trump isn’t just speaking poorly about these journalists and public reporters; he’s systematically using the machinery of government to punish them, creating an unprecedented and unruly use of power in response to the First Amendment. 

If his first term signals anything, it’s that this shouldn’t be shocking to us — it was only a matter of time before Trump’s war on free speech escalated. Long before the recent Jimmy Kimmel scandal, Trump enacted two huge executive orders with their primary goals focused on suppressing free speech in some regard. Executive Order 14149, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” was signed on Jan. 20, 2025. This order masquerades as a free speech defense, when in reality it teeters on the line of punishing platforms that refuse to promote disinformation and silencing federal whistleblowers. Federal agencies are barred from contacting news and social media companies to warn them about spreading misinformation that could potentially harm public health, election security and national security. The executive order isn’t defending the First Amendment, it’s weaponizing it. It’s a gag order in disguise. 

If that wasn’t enough, Executive Order 14290, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” was signed on May 1, 2025. This order slashed federal funding for the National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, two news networks that the White House claimed “spread racial, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’” This not only jeopardizes the livelihoods of writers and journalists at these networks but also limits public access to national news. For example, Stephen Colbert’s late-night talk show, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” coincidentally got canceled three days after Paramount’s settlement with Trump, in light of this executive order.

The administration’s most recent strike on free speech sets a dangerous precedent for further, more threatening punishments. On Sept. 15, Jimmy Kimmel, a late-night talk show host and comedian, delivered a monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in which he criticized how the Make America Great Again Republicans were responding to the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel claimed that these Republicans were trying to score political points from the killing. His criticism was focused on Trump and the administration, not Kirk —  despite Kirk having a criticism-worthy career, he focused on sowing seeds of division and hate into the malleable minds of American youth. Shortly after, ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off of the air indefinitely, claiming the decision came from the extreme backlash and sensitivity surrounding Kirk’s killing. The most eerie part of all? Trump celebrated this.

“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” Trump posted triumphantly on Truth Social. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent.”

In short, Kimmel’s suspension was a turning point for all media outlets and journalists everywhere: A famous and beloved comedian was nationally punished for making a joke the President did not like. 

This is not an isolated event; it was a test case. Kimmel’s monologues typically focus on criticizing Trump in every sense of the word. Trump’s suspension wasn’t about solely punishing one man, but rather it was sending a message to the entire entertainment and larger media industries. Between the lines, Trump is saying that, if you speak up against him, your platform, career and life could disappear. 

That message was received; other late-night show hosts responded to this suspension as if it were their own. Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and others all mentioned the suspension soon thereafter on their own networks. An ACLU petition condemning Kimmel’s censorship was signed by over 400 industry professionals, including actors, comedians, producers and directors. Suddenly, all of Hollywood understood that one wrong word could potentially change the trajectory of your career — and they were not having it.

We are entering an era of state-sponsored censorship, and history tells us where the beginning of this very dark path leads.

Authoritarians trying to silence comedians and journalists is not a new concept; humor and truth are dangerous to tyrants. Historically, autocrats — like Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini and Putin — have cracked down the hardest on journalists and comedians who insult them or put them in a bad light. For example, in Nazi Germany, comedians who mocked the regime were arrested or exiled. In Stalin’s Soviet Union, a stray joke could make you end up in the gulag. In Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Turkey, satirists were charged with “insulting the president.” And in today’s Russia, comedians who mock Putin are banned or jailed.

In each of these examples, there is a constant, formulaic pattern: authoritarians turned public commentary and criticism into a national security threat, then labeled satire or fact-based media as “hate speech” or “misinformation.” Trump’s playbook is exactly the same.

On Sept. 23, 2025, Kimmel (thankfully) returned to the air. Kimmel gave an emotional opening monologue, questioning his cancellation and wondering how this could happen in a supposed free country, one with an amendment meant to protect the right to free speech.

And he’s not wrong to be questioning the legitimacy of that amendment under the current administration. Free speech isn’t about protecting the popular opinions; it’s about protecting the unpopular ones. It’s about protecting satire, comedy, parody and criticism — especially when it makes those in power uncomfortable.

Trump’s redefinition of  “free speech” seems to be speech that only praises him. He’ll allow hate speech, conspiracies and threatening language as long as it supports his agenda. 

That isn’t freedom. It’s authoritarianism wearing a red baseball cap.

If we let Trump get away with silencing critics, comedians and journalists, we won’t just lose a few jokes. We’ll lose our entire country.

In light of all this, we take this space to recognize and reinstate the Daily Nexus’ commitment to free speech. We will not back down or hide when things get threatening. The First Amendment won’t protect itself.

The editors of the Daily Nexus Opinion section know that democracy is not self-executing.