The First Amendment is not merely ink on parchment – it is America’s covenant with itself. It ensures no leader can dictate what we say, publish, teach or worship. Yet, in 2025, Donald Trump’s administration has mounted a systematic assault on these freedoms, with a sweeping scope and brazen execution. This is not a democratic debate but an authoritarian project to shred the First Amendment and consolidate power by silencing dissent.
On Inauguration Day, Trump issued an executive order banning federal officials from pressuring social media platforms, claiming to “restore” free speech. But the move was doublespeak: The same administration censored museums, pressured comedians, restricted journalists and monitored protesters – suppressing critics while posing as liberty’s defender. Trump’s definition of free speech is selective, shielding allies while punishing opponents.
Trump rails against “cancel culture,” yet his own record tells another story. He branded the press “fake news” and “the enemy of the people,” revoked credentials, filed defamation lawsuits and pressured platforms when moderation went against him. The absurdity peaked when the White House told The Associated Press it could not cover the Oval Office or Air Force One unless it renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” Courts intervened, but restrictions linger.
In May, Trump defunded NPR and PBS for daring to criticize him. The FCC began reviewing the licenses of broadcasters deemed “insufficiently patriotic,” while loosening rules to reward Trump allies, such as Sinclair. Litigation became another weapon: Trump filed a sprawling $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, several journalists and Penguin Random House. A federal judge dismissed it as incoherent and politically motivated, but the message was clear – criticize at your peril.
Protest coverage was also targeted until courts intervened. The administration punished those who mocked Charlie Kirk’s death, while the Defense Department monitored service members’ posts and threatened suspensions for critical speech – actions that align with the broad, internal authority granted by the Executive Order on Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence. Symbolic expression came under fire as well: Trump compared the Pride flag to desecration of the U.S. flag, calling it “a symbol of violence,” admitting he would ban it outright if not for constitutional limits.
Comedy, too, became a battlefield. Stephen Colbert was pushed off CBS after facing pressure from the White House. Jimmy Kimmel was “indefinitely” suspended after remarks about Kirk’s murder, a move widely seen as political coercion by Trump loyalists at the FCC. Authoritarians know satire punctures pretenses; silencing comedians signals even laughter is unsafe.
Yet Kimmel is now back on the air – after six days of suspension – following public backlash, internal pressure and bipartisan condemnation. ABC reinstated “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” effective Sept. 23. In his return, Kimmel declared that efforts to silence comedians were “anti-American” and mocked Trump’s attempts to cancel him. Trump, undeterred, denounced ABC’s decision and urged networks to pull other late-night hosts, from Jimmy Fallon to Seth Meyers. The episode illustrates both the resilience of public pushback and the administration’s relentless appetite to control the cultural conversation.
The crackdown extends into classrooms, museums and parks. Trump froze university funding over DEI programs, sparking lawsuits from civil rights groups and the University of California. Conservative activist Chris Rufo even suggested deploying troops to dismantle such initiatives. In March, Trump ordered museums and parks to present only “uplifting” history. Soon, references to slavery, racial inequality and climate change vanished from exhibits. This wasn’t patriotism – it was censorship, rewriting history to flatter the regime. Just as autocrats abroad have rewritten the past to secure power, the Trump administration has sought to control how Americans understand their own history.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi reinforced the campaign with a September memo on “parental rights,” granting the DOJ power to intervene in local school disputes. Pitched as a means of family protection, it became a tool of political intimidation. Bondi went further, vowing to eradicate “hate speech.” Beneath the noble phrasing lay a dangerous expansion of federal power: overriding constitutional protections whenever politically convenient.
Civil liberties groups warn that government power is now being wielded to retaliate against critics, intimidate the press and chill dissent. Piece by piece, the administration chips away at the First Amendment: loyalty tests for journalists, defunding broadcasters, FCC intimidation, frivolous lawsuits, targeting protesters, coercing universities, rewriting history, banning symbols, punishing online expression and even trying – albeit unsuccessfully – to silence comedians.
Each step alone is alarming. Together, they expose a government that sees free expression not as a right but as an obstacle. The First Amendment was designed as a shield, but it only works if Americans raise it. History shows the pattern: Regimes that control speech control people. From Mussolini’s Italy to Putin’s Russia, authoritarianism begins with silencing the press, rewriting the past and coercing the academy.
Kimmel’s reinstatement is a small victory – but only if Americans continue to resist. The Trump administration still seeks to drive dissenters off the air. The question is whether citizens will fight to preserve the First Amendment before it becomes a hollow relic.
The time to resist is now.
Concetta C. DiRusso, Ph.D., and Paul N. Black, Ph.D., are Professors Emeritus at the University of Nebraska, Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and members of the Professional Associates at Fort Lewis College. Black is a Durango native; both live in Durango.
