Two featured speakers on Wednesday at the Republican National Convention emphasized how important free speech is, and how the left is besieging that right.
Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s son, touched on the right to free speech while addressing the Republican National Convention (RNC). Trump Jr. argued that leftists have turned everything, including the definition of free speech, “upside down” to justify their agenda. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) affirmed his dedication to free speech in his speech accepting the nomination for vice president.
“On one hand, they think free speech protects their ‘right’ to expose your children to explicit drag shows. On the other hand, they want to put you in jail for making a meme.” .@DonaldJTrumpJr pic.twitter.com/mqxsoDT8B2
— Catherine Salgado (@CatSalgado32) July 18, 2024
Trump Jr. slammed the “erosion of our rights” early in his speech, and later called attention to the left’s stark hypocricy. “On one hand, they think free speech protects their ‘right’ to expose your children to explicit drag shows. On the other hand, they want to put you in jail for making a meme,” Trump said, referring to Douglass Mackey, who was sentenced to seven months of prison last year for sharing anti-Hillary Clinton voting memes in 2016. Trump Jr. added, “It’s like the entire world has been turned upside down.”
JD Vance, who was picked by President Trump to be his running mate, confirmed the ticket’s dedication to First Amendment rights. “That’s the Republican Party of the next four years: united in our love for this country, and committed to free speech and the open exchange of ideas,” he declared during his keynote address.
Vance and Trump Jr. are no strangers to censorship. For instance, MRC researchers just uncovered how X’s Grok artificial intelligence suppresses Vance’s account. Both Vance and Trump Jr. have been censored multiple times across multiple platforms, particularly on X Community Notes, as MRC’s CensorTrack records.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on so-called “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using MRC Free Speech America’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
