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A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for free speech

A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for free speech

The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policy or contribute to reporting or editing stories elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com

Shaun McCutcheon is a political activist and free speech advocate. He won the US Supreme Court case McCutcheon v. FEC. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? For me, the answer to the question about 2024 couldn’t be simpler: Trump.

Even without the failures of the Biden-Harris administration, there are many reasons to support a second Trump term. As one of the most successful businessmen in American history, Trump would once again be a free market president, supporting job creators large and small with tax cuts, reduced regulations, increased energy production and other pro-business policies that create real economic growth.

Next comes mass illegal immigration, which a Trump administration would address on day one with increased law enforcement and an affirmation of common-sense legal immigration that makes our country a real country. And in foreign policy, Trump also has a proven track record of achieving peace through strength – without endless wars.

Trump has many proven answers, from economic growth to lower energy costs to lower inflation to border security. That’s why many American voters support Trump on these issues, despite the relentless attacks from the Washington establishment. Voters particularly like Trump’s ability to handle the large and complex US economy. After years of rising prices, many voters in battleground states are ready for another Trump presidency.

There is another reason to support Trump, and it is no less important. For decades and with even greater intensity in recent months, the former president has been a champion of free speech, defending the right of Americans – left, right and center – to express their opinions, regardless of what they believe. Trump is, in my opinion, by far the best First Amendment candidate. He fights back against the left’s attempts to censor him (see his infamous Facebook ban) and appears on countless podcasts to advocate for our right to free speech. Explicitly and implicitly, Trump’s advocacy of free speech through appearances on alternative platforms demonstrates his passion for the First Amendment.

Further evidence is Trump’s recent rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he returned triumphant after the first assassination attempt. Trump returned to Butler with Elon Musk at his side, the owner of That speaks volumes from the perspective of the head of X (formerly Twitter), which was once a breeding ground for censorship before Musk’s leadership. For years, Twitter was accused of suppressing conservative and libertarian voices that happened to disagree with Democrats — before Musk restored the platform as a haven for free speech.

I think any candidate with Musk’s support deserves to win. Every candidate who has fought tooth and nail for years against establishment politicians and their allies to make America great again deserves to win.

Trump is perhaps the most criticized and vilified candidate in U.S. history, and yet he continues to make the rounds and make his voice heard among Americans fed up with left-wing politics. Despite an assassination attempt on his life, Trump is a living testament to the power of the First Amendment, and I believe he would be in safe hands in another Trump administration.

If you don’t believe me, listen to Musk, Amber Rose, Tulsi Gabbard, or the countless other former Democrats who have decided to abandon the radical left and support a real Republican leader in 2024. To quote Gabbard at a recent pro-Trump speaking event: “The choice is between freedom and tyranny.”

Don’t you believe me? Then listen to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who recently admitted that the Biden-Harris administration pressured the company to censor COVID-related content in 2021 – censorship in favor of government information. Democrats even took aim at “humor and satire” that didn’t fit the administration’s line, and Zuckerberg is hardly a MAGA Republican.

The answer to the 2024 question is simple: either you support free speech or you don’t. And if you believe in the First Amendment, only one presidential candidate deserves your vote: Donald J. Trump.

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