Conservative columnist warns Trump of escalating free-speech attacks

David French’s column warns that Donald Trump is adopting ever more absurd tactics to suppress viewpoints he opposes. French highlights the 2025 detention of Turkish-born Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk after she helped author a critical op-ed on Israel, noting that Judge Noël Wise invalidated the statutes the administration invoked. The piece cites the backlash from MAGA figures, including White House adviser Stephen Miller, who argue the First Amendment should not be treated as a “suicide pact.”

French stresses that the Constitution’s free-speech clause safeguards political expression for anyone within U.S. jurisdiction, not just citizens. He calls the administration’s approach a bullying strategy rather than a legitimate debate. The columnist also references Bill Maher’s recent remarks on defending unpopular ideas as essential to First Amendment values.