Take a Pledge to Defend the First Amendment From the Trump Administration

Take a Pledge to Defend the First Amendment From the Trump Administration

Take a Pledge to Defend the First Amendment From the Trump Administration

The president-elect has been alarmingly hostile to the press and free-speech rights. 

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What’s Going On?

President-elect Donald Trump has shown, in the words of The Nation’s Editor and Publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel, an “unprecedented hostility” toward the press. He’s threatened to “open up” libel laws, banned members of the press from his events, and ginned up bigotry and hate that could chill the free speech rights of people of color, Muslims, the disabled, and other groups that he and his supporters have attacked.

What Can I Do?

First, make sure that you’ve subscribed to The Nation. The stakes are higher than ever before for independent media and subscribing is the best way to help ensure the future of our principled, progressive journalism (and if you’ve already subscribed, please donate).

Secondly, sign The Nation’s petition with PEN America, Free Press, Presente.org, and a number of other organizations and pledge to preserve, protect, and defend our right to a free press.

The pledge, which has been signed by all past US poets laureate, includes five key actions to take to defend our First Amendment rights from the Trump administration:

Defend the vital role and rights of a free press

Protect our right to peaceful protest and assembly, and not allow the government to criminalize dissent.

Stand against the persecution of religious minorities.

Safeguard existing laws and court decisions that limit the use of libel and slander defamation lawsuits to intimidate critics.

Speak out against bigotry and hate.

Read More

In a recent issue of The Nation, John Nichols spoke with Margaret Sullivan, media columnist for The Washington Post and former New York Times public editor, on the ways in which the media failed the American public when it came to Trump’s candidacy. And in the days after the election, Katrina vanden Heuvel wrote about The Nation’s commitment to “mobilizing against hatred, bigotry, misogyny, and economic pain” and underscored the importance of “journalists of principle and conscience” in the wake of the results.

Can we count on you?

In the coming election, the fate of our democracy and fundamental civil rights are on the ballot. The conservative architects of Project 2025 are scheming to institutionalize Donald Trump’s authoritarian vision across all levels of government if he should win.

We’ve already seen events that fill us with both dread and cautious optimism—throughout it all, The Nation has been a bulwark against misinformation and an advocate for bold, principled perspectives. Our dedicated writers have sat down with Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders for interviews, unpacked the shallow right-wing populist appeals of J.D. Vance, and debated the pathway for a Democratic victory in November.

Stories like these and the one you just read are vital at this critical juncture in our country’s history. Now more than ever, we need clear-eyed and deeply reported independent journalism to make sense of the headlines and sort fact from fiction. Donate today and join our 160-year legacy of speaking truth to power and uplifting the voices of grassroots advocates.

Throughout 2024 and what is likely the defining election of our lifetimes, we need your support to continue publishing the insightful journalism you rely on.

Thank you,
The Editors of The Nation

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