Leftists may claim that revoking visas for individuals accused of blurring the lines between supporting Palestinians and Hamas is anti-free speech. However, CNN political commentator Scott Jennings had a reminder about years of actual, leftist censorship.
Last month on an episode of CNN’s NewsNight, host Abby Phillip and Jennings clashed as usual, in this case apparently over the Trump State Department’s plan to revoke the visa of and ultimately deport Mahmoud Khalil, a foreign student accused of promoting Hamas terrorism. Phillip started to mourn the revocation of Khalil’s green card, which she viewed as an attack on free speech. However, Jennings promptly reminded her that “the left in this country has undertaken a massive effort to suppress the speech of conservatives.”
Related: Sec. Rubio Bashes Free Speech Hypocrisy of Anti-Israel Dems: ‘I Find It Ironic’
The exchange began with Phillip lecturing: “You mentioned free speech, which we already know that people are being deported on the basis of not being able to have certain types of speech that this administration doesn't like. I mean, those are things that are happening right now, in this country, you're talking about Europe but that's happening here.”
"I would remind you that over the course of the last several years the left has undertaken a massive effort to suppress the speech of conservatives"
— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) April 3, 2025
Scott Jennings shuts down Abby Phillip. pic.twitter.com/rqPUqIspfh
Jennings didn’t let that piece of hypocrisy slide, shooting back: “Well, I would remind you that over the course of the last several years, the left in this country has undertaken a massive effort to suppress the speech of conservatives,” he said, continuing despite hysterical interruptions from Phillip.
“And to this day, this day, the message from the left is, if you don't say what we like, we will engage in violent acts against you,” Jennings added, likely referring to the rash of anti-Tesla domestic terrorism sweeping the country as leftists furiously attack Elon Musk, who advises President Donald Trump on his Department of Government Efficiency task force.
Indeed, as Jennings said, leftists in government and Big Tech companies and media outlets have pushed censorship and orchestrated anti-free speech efforts. The Biden administration was particularly egregious, as illustrated by the Murthy v. Missouri lawsuit, a new MRC study on 57 Biden censorship initiatives, The Twitter Files and a letter from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Free speech is under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech and government be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
