President Donald Trump did not just defend free speech while addressing elites at Davos's World Economic Forum elites on Thursday. He also threw down the gauntlet.
Speaking remotely, Trump addressed Davos telling those assembled about his efforts to eradicate censorship on Thursday. “I'm pleased to report that America is also a free nation once again,” Trump told the assembled politicians, executives and other attendees. “On day one I signed an executive order to stop all government censorship. No longer will our government label the speech of our own citizens as misinformation or disinformation–which are the favorite words of censors and those who wish to stop the free exchange of ideas and frankly progress. We have saved free speech in America.”
But Trump didn’t stop there. The president criticized the European Union for levying fines against American tech companies such as Apple, Google and Meta. During a Jan. 10 interview with Joe Rogan, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the pro-censorship EU has fined tech companies $30 billion. The EU has also weaponized its draconian censorship law, the Digital Services Act, and frequently goes after American tech companies for allowing disfavored speech on their platforms.
Zuckerberg called for the United States to defend American tech companies abroad and it appears that Trump listened.
President Trump also condemned Bank of America, JP Morgan and Chase and other large banks for debanking conservatives, in response to a question from Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.
“I hope you start opening your bank to conservatives,” Trump told Moynihan. “Because many conservatives complained that the banks are not allowing them to do business within the bank. And that included a place called Bank of America,” Trump said. “They don't take conservative business. And I don't know if regulators mandated that because of Biden or what. But you and [JPMorgan Chase CEO] Jamie [Dimon] and everybody I hope you will open your banks to conservatives because what you are doing is wrong.”
MRC Free Speech America’s exclusive CensorTrack database includes a number of cases of discrimination by financial institutions including Moynihan’s Bank of America, which debanked former Trump attorney John Eastman and independent journalist and documentarian Radix Verum. Censortrack also includes examples of discrimination from Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, Truist, USAA, Venmo, Paypal, Stripe, Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Patreon, and the Evangelical Christian Credit Union.
A few hours after Trump’s remarks, Bank of America posted on X, claiming that the bank welcomes conservatives.
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 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.
