Free Speech Means You Can Criticize Anyone

This week, editors Peter Suderman, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Matt Welch examine President Donald Trump's claim that overwhelmingly negative coverage of him is "no longer free speech," suggesting that criticism of the president could be treated as illegal. They explore how this rhetoric fits into his broader war on the press, from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pressure that pushed ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel to new speech restrictions floated by senior officials, and why these moves strike at the core of the First Amendment.

The editors then turn to disclosures about a closed bribery investigation involving Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, and what it signals about corruption risks around immigration policy. They assess the implications of U.S. strikes on Venezuelan drug boats and the danger of rapid escalation of tensions, along with Trump's hints about reentering Afghanistan. A listener question then prompts each editor to name the view their colleagues would likely consider least libertarian.

0:00—Does free speech cover criticism?

23:09—Holman's bribery scandal

39:09—Listener question on least libertarian views

49:28—Venezuela and Afghanistan foreign policy news

57:43—Weekly cultural recommendations