Speak at Your Own Risk

Donald Trump’s attacks on the First Amendment

Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic* September 18, 2026, 7:59 PM ET Share Save On the first day of his second term in the White House, President Trump signed an executive order on free speech stating that his administration would ensure that “no Federal Government officer, employee, or agent engages in or facilitates any conduct that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen.” He has gone on to violate that order many times.