Thin-Skinned Trump Strikes Again: Free Speech Be Damned

Damon Ellison – Donald Trump, America’s king of thin skin, is at it again. The man who has built his entire brand on being the “toughest guy in the room” continues his authoritarian sprint — and the Republicans still have the nerve to ask why he’s called a dictator. Look no further than this week’s circus.

Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times? Dropped. Done. Gone. Yet he struts around declaring victory over ABC and CBS, conveniently forgetting that those weren’t courtroom wins — they were settlements. Huge difference. But facts have never been Trump’s thing. He prefers the fairy tale where every headline is fake news and every deal is a triumph.

And then comes the latest episode in his war on free speech. ABC’s president, already bowing and scraping since day one, just caved to pressure from the FCC and Trump’s cronies. Jimmy Kimmel — suspended. Why? For daring to make a joke about Charlie Kirk. The Federal Communications Commission isn’t supposed to take marching orders from the Oval Office, but under Trump, “independent” means “obedient.” Brendan Carr, the FCC commissioner, practically bragged on a podcast that he could go after ABC and maybe The View next.

This is where we are: the president of the United States calling criticism “illegal.” His exact words:

“When 97 percent of the stories are bad about a person, it’s no longer free speech.”

No, sir, that’s exactly what free speech is — the right to say things you don’t like. If the press spent all day polishing your shoes, that wouldn’t be journalism. That would be state media. Funny enough, that’s exactly what Trump wants.

Even Republicans are starting to flinch. Ted Cruz — yes, that Ted Cruz — said Carr’s moves were “dangerous as hell” and “right out of Goodfellas.” When Ted Cruz sounds like the voice of reason, you know we’ve entered the Upside Down. Of course, Trump rushed to Carr’s defense, calling him “incredible” and “a great American.” Translation: a loyal soldier willing to bulldoze the First Amendment on command.

Meanwhile, ABC looks like a toddler tugging its forelock, waiting for Trump to decide what’s on TV. Their president did what he was told “like a good boy,” yanking Kimmel off the air while pretending it was about “standards.” Let’s not kid ourselves — it was about power. It was about fear.

The irony is staggering. Trump rode into power screaming about censorship, weaponized free speech as his shield, and now he’s gutting it in real time. He wants the freedom to say anything, from calling immigrants “animals” to spreading conspiracy theories, but the second a comedian cracks a joke or a journalist digs too deep, suddenly it’s “illegal.”

This is authoritarianism with a spray tan — not subtle, not clever, and not even hiding anymore. And if the networks keep folding, if agencies like the FCC keep rolling over, then the “land of the free” is just a slogan we slap on T-shirts made in China.

So yes, Mr. Trump, this is why you’re called a dictator. Because every move you make screams it. Every cowardly executive who bends the knee to you proves it. And every time you try to muzzle dissent, America sees the truth: the emperor has no clothes, but he sure has a fragile ego.