Trump Pledged Free Speech Reforms If Reelected
On May 28, 2022, in Casper, Wyoming, President Donald Trump unveiled a number of bold and ambitious plans to reverse what he described as the repression of free expression and speech in the United States, in case he wins the presidency in 2024 and is elected as the President. Trump, who lost his 2020 attempt for reelection to the White House, pledged in a videotaped speech that he would issue a number of executive orders and policies targeting government personnel, universities, and internet corporations for allegedly censoring ideas and speech. The Republican, who frequently used linguistic hyperbole and overpromises whenever unveiling intentions, declared:
“The censorship cartel has to be dissolved as well as eliminated, and it needs to occur instantly.” Upon taking office on 20 January 2025, Trump, the 47th president of the United States, immediately prohibited the use of hundreds of diversity and inclusion terms from federal records. Trump’s approach is clear: control access, control the narrative, and seize power.
Key Terms Removed From Federal Records
Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship ” on the day of his second inauguration and entrance to the White House. However, it became evident right away that he was actually enforcing the linguistic regulations, directing the administration to recognise only two genders and discontinue any initiatives pertaining to diversity, equity, and inclusion. He redefined “energy” to exclude solar and wind power in one executive order.
According to a compilation of government documents, as President Trump seeks to purge the federal government of “woke” initiatives, agencies have flagged hundreds of words to limit or avoid. Almost two hundred phrases are seen in government memos, official and unofficial agency guidance, and other documents that The New York Times looked at. There have been orders to remove certain words from websites accessible to the public or to remove them from other materials such as school curricula. In other cases, federal agency managers suggested using the terms cautiously but did not wholly forbid them. Moreover, the inclusion of certain words served to automatically flag for review certain contracts and grant proposals that would be in breach of Trump’s order.
The Trump Effect
In a matter of days, the terms “diversity,” “clean energy,” and “climate change” started to disappear from federal websites. Several institutions and organizations began cleaning up their webpages. Federally funded scientists were instructed to stop any work that went against executive orders. Institutions that disregard these orders have already had to deal with fallout. The Associated Press, for example, stuck to the traditional centuries-old name of the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage when Trump renamed it “the Gulf of America”. As a consequence, its correspondents were denied entrance to the White House.
These language mandates have had a ripple effect on society, with company executives, university scholars, and institutions looking for MAGA-friendly phrasing to avoid being targeted by the government. For example, in line with Trump’s program, the solar sector is now discussing “American energy dominance” rather than climate change. The last time Trump was in office, federal workers used gentle terms like “sustainability” and “resilience” in favor of climate change. Now there are fewer and fewer ways to voice environmental concerns on websites, as many of those ambiguous, once-safe words are being removed.
However, using more agreeable synonyms might also be seen as a means for government workers and scientists to carry on with their vital tasks. For instance, when the Federal Emergency Management Agency removed all mentions of climate change from its homepage but left them in secondary pages when it redesigned as a “Climate Resilience” site to “Future Conditions” in January.
The Agenda: Censoring Voices, Controlling Narratives
President Donald Trump is taking on the role of information controller more and more, working to restrict accessibility to physical and virtual spaces where significant expressive activities take place. Trump aims to ensure that narratives serving his agenda can thrive, and voices who don’t support it, like the Associated Press and broadcast journalists, are punished by limiting access to his terms. The president thus serves as both a protector and restrictor of First Amendment rights. On one side, Trump intends to make it easier for regular people to express conservative opinions protected by the Free Speech Clause through online platforms.
On the other side, Trump is denying Press Clause-protected journalists access to confined physical quarters like the Oval Office and Air Force One when their news organizations don’t parrot his preferred nomenclature. Although the latter is pettily vengeful, the former is incredibly admirable. Trump’s demand that the Federal Communications Commission revoke stations’ licenses as he disapproves of their reporting, therefore depriving them access to the broadcast airwaves, is making press issues worse. Trump’s strategy is transparent: control access, control the narrative.
Briefly, by denying AP journalists press-pool access, Trump wants to control his America First narrative in publications that are read all over the world. As David McCraw, senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for The New York Times, recently stated, “Access becomes a choke point for journalism.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, Trump’s act of sweeping executive order to bring independent agencies under the control of the White House would greatly expand his power beyond all boundaries, but is likely to attract significant legal challenges and problems. By censoring key terms and phrases, Trump wants to control and defend narratives that can serve his America First agenda. The future of inclusive words and diversity in policy making is still up in the air as discussions about government censorship and free speech intensify.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
Kanza Sohail is currently pursuing her bachelor's in international relations at Kinnaird College for Women University. She has completed a significant internship at the Research Society of International Law (RSIL). She has a keen interest in writing on topics related to regional studies, global environmental politics, conflict resolution, and international law.