Donald Trump Suggests ‘Freedom Of Expression’ Is Hurting Fight Against Terrorism

[Siwsan]

More toxic word salad from Trump

NEW YORK ― Republican nominee Donald Trump cited “freedom of expression” Monday as a potential roadblock in the fight against terrorism, remarks that set a troubling precedent if he’s elected president in November.

While speaking about the recent bombings in New York and New Jersey, Trump suggested that press freedom is preventing law enforcement from arresting the publishers of bomb-making instructions.

“I see the other day, and they’re all talking about it so wonderfully, because, you know, it’s called freedom of the press, where you buy magazines and they tell you how to make these same bombs that I saw,” Trump said in an interview on on “Fox & Friends.” “Now people will go crazy, they’ll say, ‘Oh Trump is against freedom of the press.’ I’m not against. I’m totally in favor of freedom of the press. But how do you allow magazines to be sold?

Trump didn’t mention any specific titles, but he’s presumably referring to Al Qaeda’s English-language propaganda magazine Inspire or jihadi websites that publish bomb-making instructions. However, publications such as Inspire are not sold at any mainstream U.S. bookstores or newsstands, as Trump suggests, but can be found on the internet. It’s also unclear who is supposedly speaking “wonderfully” about jihadi propaganda in the context of press freedom, as Trump contends.

“We should arrest the people that do that because they’re participating in crime,” Trump continued. “We should arrest them. Instead they say, ‘Oh no, you can’t do anything, that’s freedom of expression.’”

He added that “we don’t want to touch them because of freedom of speech.”

What’s chilling about Trump’s remarks isn’t his criticism of jihadi propaganda ― which is clearly awful ― but his casual dismissal of “freedom of expression” and “freedom of speech,” bedrocks of American democracy, as potentially disposable in fighting terrorism. He presented an ominous scenario on Fox News in which U.S. counterterrorism is being stymied by the First Amendment, though didn’t provide evidence to support his assertion. Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly expressed unwavering support for the Second Amendment and against restrictions on guns.

Monday’s comments also follow actions by Trump which have already invited comparison to autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, each of whom severely clamped down on free expression and the press in their respective countries. Over the past year, the Republican nominee has blacklisted, ejected, restricted, and mocked journalists covering his campaign and suggested libel laws should be opened up to make it easier to sue news organizations.

Trump voiced concerns in the past about free expression, including calling in December for “closing” up parts of the internet.

“Somebody will say, ‘Oh freedom of speech, freedom of speech,’” Trump said. “These are foolish people. We have a lot of foolish people.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-freedom-of-expression_us_57dfde58e4b04a1497b54f2f?section=&

[SoCalNative]

1. Hmmmm.....

[Siwsan]

4. Yup - those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

This whole situation is just plain scary.

[PJMcK]

7. Do high schools still teach history?

Is US History still a requirement for a high school diploma? If it is, too many people didn't learn the lessons I'm certain an excellent teacher gave them.

My sarcastic question is based on how little our fellow citizens understand the world we live in. The lack of knowledge about civics, history of our country and its government and civil rights is vast. Too many Americans are just plain ignorant of the world.

It's really discouraging.

[Siwsan]

8. Is American or World History even a required course, any more? And How about Civics/Government??

I was lucky enough to go through Civics and Government classes during an election year. If we signed up and worked for a campaign, all we had to do is turn in a report and proof of attendance, and we were exempt from having to take the final.

One of the courses that my Dad taught, back when things weren't so specialized, was History. I inherited my love of and curiosity about History from him. And because I've seen what can happen, what's going on, right now, is so frightening.

[PJMcK]

9. I, too, love history

My interest in history is based on the understanding that human civilization has been shaped by the people who led tribes, kingdoms, states and nations. This interest is all why I follow politics so closely. We are living in what will become history.

It's fascinating.

[riversedge]

2. The dumb=steve doocy talking to the dumb Trump.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. That's why I call the show "Dumb fucks and friends"

[Dalziel3979]

5. What that really transcribes to is "whatever I don't like or disagree with will be shut down".

[Siwsan]

6. I have no doubt that he would try to do exactly that

I really, really think that they need to tighten up those qualifications to run for POTUS and absolutely include making it mandatory that a prospective candidate having to be able to pass a high school civics/government class with a minimum A- grade.

[NastyRiffraff]

10. No wonder he adores Putin

He's exactly like him, although not as physically fit.

[Siwsan]

11. There is always photoshop - give him time

His orange mopped head may yet show up on a physique worthy of a young Schwarzenegger.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. Unfortunately, too many people on our side seem to regard free expression as a pain in the ass.

Witness the scare quotes around "free speech", the eyerolls and complaints that come up any time the 1st amendment is discussed, or the inevitable misuse of the tortured (and, actually, incorrect) metaphor of "you can't shout fire in a crowded theater" when people try to argue that blasphemous cartoons, or hell, the sports illustrated swimsuit issue, should be illegal.

What progressive censorship fetishists dont ever seem to get is, the first voices to be censored will most likely be ones they agree with.