A common theme throughout the first nine months of President Donald Trump’s second term has been targeting those he disagrees with and limiting access to information on topics he does not support. While many major entities nationwide are folding under this pressure, Delaware is standing up and ensuring that people have the means to resist this authoritarianism.
Early in his administration, President Trump targeted institutions of higher learning, media organizations and law firms with lawsuits, threats of criminal charges and pledges that he would cut funding unless they complied with his demands. In some instances, institutions like Harvard University fought back and have won in the courts. But several others — such as law firm Paul Weiss, Paramount and Columbia University — “bent the knee” and pledged to abide by the administration’s demands.
In almost all these cases, the demands directly correlated to First Amendment activities that should be protected. Paul Weiss and other law firms were targeted because they represented clients that do not align with President Trump. Paramount was sued because the president took issue with its media coverage during his presidential campaign. And Columbia University was targeted because of its diversity, equity and inclusion commitments, as well as student protests that took place throughout the past 18 months.
When powerful organizations decide to comply with these types of demands, it emboldens the administration to take actions further. In the months that have followed, President Trump has filed new lawsuits against media companies whose coverage he does not like. He has issued executive orders seeking to erase LGBTQ+ people, people of color and immigrants from multiple arenas of public life. Administration officials have also pledged to investigate and potentially punish liberal organizations with whom they disagree.
On Sept. 17, Constitution Day, ABC and its parent company Disney announced that they would indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show due to comments he made in a Sept. 15 monologue regarding Charlie Kirk’s killing. The suspension came after Federal Communications Commission leaders made public statements over 24 hours, pressuring the media company to take action against Kimmel. It was announced Sept. 22 that the show would be returning the following day.
Make no mistake: For those who disagree with Kimmel’s comments, the First Amendment protects their right to protest, boycott or otherwise speak out against his show. The First Amendment also protects those who were angry with ABC/Disney’s decision and wished to protest, boycott or speak out about it.
But the protections of the U.S. Constitution are specifically in place to ensure that the government cannot use its levers of power to silence those with whom it disagrees. And that is precisely what the Trump administration did by leveraging the FCC to pressure ABC to suspend Kimmel.
What happened was beyond McCarthyism, and both the Trump administration’s actions and ABC’s capitulation represented significant threats to our core First Amendment rights.
With so many powerful corporations simply withering under the federal government’s pressure, it is especially heartening that Delaware recently took major steps to protect free speech for those who may not have the resources to push back.
On Sept. 15, Gov. Matt Meyer signed Senate Bill 80 into law. It addresses a legal tactic known as “strategic litigation against public participation” or, essentially, when the rich and powerful attempt to use the court system to silence those with whom they disagree by filing meritless lawsuits against them. The litigation often causes the person to be afraid to speak out in the future, and if he or she fights the suit, it costs him or her substantial time and money. SB 80 increases Delaware’s protections against these types of lawsuits, ensuring that the powerful are disincentivized from filing them and that activists have tools to defend themselves against them.
People across the political spectrum agree that the First Amendment is essential and needs to be protected. SB 80 was passed by the General Assembly bipartisanly, and it was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union Delaware and the Caesar Rodney Institute. No matter who controls the levers of power, a democratic society depends on people being able to express their beliefs, to have access to information and to associate with whom they choose without interference from the government.
In times like these, when our core freedoms are in peril, we can make significant strides to protect our liberties in Delaware. As we approach the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, we must reaffirm our commitment to free speech and expression as the very building blocks of our society and protect them with all our might from those who seek to undermine them.
