The First Amendment in the Trump Era

Regardless of how the presidency of Donald J. Trump ultimately concludes, a significant part of its legacy will relate to the First Amendment. The president has publicly attacked the institutional press and individual reporters, calling them the "enemy of the people." He has proposed that flag burners be jailed and de-naturalized, blocked critics from his Twitter page, communicated hateful and derogatory ideas, and defended the speech of white nationalists. More than any other modern president, Trump has openly challenged fundamental First Amendment norms and principles relating to free speech and free press. These challenges have come at a time when the institutional press faces economic and other pressures that negatively affect their functions and legitimacy, political and other forms of polarization are on the rise, and protesters face diminished space and opportunities for exercising free speech rights.

The First Amendment in the Trump Era catalogs and analyzes the various First Amendment conflicts that have occurred during the Trump presidency. It places these conflicts in historical context-as part of our current digitized and polarized era but also as part of a broader narrative concerning attacks on free speech and press. We must understand what is familiar in terms of the First Amendment concerns of the present era, but also what is distinctive about these concerns. The Trump Era has once again reminded us of the need for a free and independent press, the need to protect robust and sometimes caustic criticism of public officials, and the importance of protest and dissent to effective self-government.

Timothy Zick is the John Marshall Professor of Government and Citizenship at William & Mary Law School. Professor Zick teaches courses on constitutional law and the First Amendment. He is the author of Speech Out of Doors: Preserving First Amendment Liberties in Public Places (2009), The Cosmopolitan First Amendment: Protecting Transborder Expressive and Religious Liberties (2014), and The Dynamic Free Speech Clause: Free Speech and its Relation to Other Constitutional Rights (2018). Professor Zick has been a frequent commentator on First Amendment issues in local, national, and international media. In 2012, he testified before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee regarding the First Amendment rights of Occupy Wall Street protesters.