FIRST AMENDMENT HYPOCRISY

By Mickey Skidmore, AMHSW, ACSW, FAASW

For at least a year prior to the 2024 presidential election, Trump faced multiple legal challenges, including: two federal indictments (one associated with the events of January 6th following the loss of the 2020 election; and one associated with possessing government documents after he left office); a criminal New York state matter referred to in the media as the Stormy Daniels “hush money” case; and a civil New York state matter involving falsifying records to defraud the state over the span of at least a decade. This did not include his previous civil convictions of sexual assault.

Despite longstanding accepted standards of limitations of first amendment speech while these matters were being addressed within the process of the legal system (i.e. during a court hearing/case), Trump pressed and tested the conventional boundaries of this practice, (often to the point of being held in contempt) framing these limitations in the media as an infringement of his first amendment rights — attempting to limit the comments of a presidential candidate. You might recall that this frequently took the form of pubic, personal attacks (without evidence) on witnesses, not to mention the Judge in the cases along with their staff.

Throughout these ordeals, Trump’s legal strategy was clear and obvious — appeal, confuse, stall, postpone and delay at all cost in an effort to run out the clock and prevent the conclusion of a legal process before the election — in hopes that being re-elected would render these matters effectively moot. Realising that being successful based on the merits of the case in a court of law were poor, being the TV celebrity con man that he is, he instead did everything in his power to try these matters in an environment more conducive to him — the court of public opinion — via social media, where he essentially conned enough people to vote for him, making him the unlikely 47th president of the USA  — and thereby continuing his avoidance of accountability for his wide ranging illegal conduct.

The fact that the President of the United States attempted a self-coup based on a completely made-up and thoroughly discredited lie; escaped prosecution because his lawyers used due process to delay the proceedings until the election; and then was re-elected after promising the same kind of tyranny he’s currently doling out on the country — makes me embarrassed as an American.

Fast forward now to the first 100+ days of his administration — where the first amendment now only seems to apply to his malicious government. Anyone who dares to have (let alone voice) a view or perspective not aligned with the Trump administration (whether that be private Universities; law firms; Judges; heads of State’s; the media; etc) is threatened and severely punished. Funding is arbitrarily stripped; domestic economies and international trade is upended; diversity programs are now framed as illegal; and due process is abandoned in order to deport non-white migrants who are in the US legally. (I can’t be the only one who questions how any of this is even [legally] possible?).

Whether it be first amendment speech, or “political question doctrine”, Trump has already announced an “energy emergency” requiring that environmental laws be waived to speed up more oil drilling. He has declared a “trade emergency” that permits him to raise taxes on imports as he sees fit, without any input from Congress. He declared a “southern border” emergency, which in his view justifies deploying active duty troops for civilian law enforcement, despite laws prohibiting that. He has decreed that the presence of foreign criminals in the US constitutes an “invasion” that allows him to capture suspected illegal migrants and send them to an active war zone in Africa or a Central American prison — again as his administration sees fit.

Not one of these justifications is accurate. The US was producing more fossil fuels than ever before Trump retook office in January 2025. The country’s balance of trade in goods has been negative for decades (50+ years — hardly an “emergency”), even as the gross domestic product has continued to rise. By Trump’s inauguration, illegal border crossings were at a four-year low. And to suggest that criminals committing crimes is the same thing as a foreign army attacking and seizing American territory is absurd on its face.

Some (but not enought) have taken notice of the speed at which his sycophants have mobilised to streamline the checks and balances of a constitutional democracy more towards a more centralised hub of policy, communication and power. Ironically and unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s ruling to extend the parameters of executive authority is effectively interpreted by Trump as a green light to realise his authoritarian proclivities. 

History teaches us that those in political power get to frame current reality and history. However, doing this in blatant violation of the constitution is another matter altogether. If you want to change immigration policy  — fine. Draft a bill outlining the details of your new policy; introduce the bill; debate it; amend it and then vote on it. Instead, this administration has usurped any and all due process rights; based solely on flimsy accusations without evidence that would stand up in a court of law and deport them to other countries — simply because at face value they are exercising their first amendment rights to voice their views about the Palestinian plight.

Trump is also currently imposing his anti-intellectual ideology on higher education. He is using unproven allegations of anti-semitism and claims of discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion to control how private Universities determine their education curriculum and hiring practices. 

Nine leading law firms succumbed to blackmail to get rid of the president’s executive orders that punished firms for displeasing him.

In the name of widely discredited economic principles the Trump administration engages in indiscriminate and petulant tariff policy — the authority of which constitutionally rest with Congress. And they employ questionable methods to eliminate fraud and abuse in Government so that they can continue to give unnecessary tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest individuals will adding trillions of dollars to the already obscene deficit.

Many of these things serve the purpose of distracting the electorate. Trying to keep up the incompetent clown show many have yet to realise why this is all unfolding as quickly as it is. The reality is that many of these actions are already backfiring on the administration. Thus, in addition to the historical trends of mid-term elections, this means that Trump only has less than two years to implement the pieces of his corrupt agenda. Barring unforeseen changes, the mid-term elections will return the majority of the house back to the Decorates and perhaps inch the Senate back closer to even. Should this unfold, Trump would effectively become a lam-duck president for the remainder of his term — theoretically without the option to be elected to a third term.

Interwoven in the hypocrisy of free speech is the “political question doctrine” which technically is the legal theory where courts may only rule on interpretations of the Constitution and laws, but not on assertions of fact. For example, if Donald Trump declared tomorrow that the sky is green — does that mean it actually is green? Or if he decrees that raw lemons taste sweet, would they in reality no longer be sour? Or a more realistic notion of stating that the Gulf of Mexico is now The Gulf of America? Unfortunately, the answer is perhaps yes — as a matter of law, Trump’s “factual” assertions cannot be challenged even if they are blatantly wrong. In other words, Trump can (as does regularly) gas light the country on any number of matters with the court being unable to rule on such deceit. 

The more the public can be bullied into thinking words and phrases mean whatever Trump wants them to mean, the easier it becomes for the White House to advance its agenda and obscure the President’s failures.

Like so many things in the federal government, this theory was not designed with an amoral, enthusiastic liar in mind who appears determined to grab unlimited power. Perhaps the ultimate hypocrisy would be violating the constitution for a third term in office — using his “first amendment” rights to install himself as an illegal and corrupt authoritarian leader, signalling the end of America’s grand experiment.

Watch this space.