President Donald Trump has now stated that because he claims 97% of coverage about him is negative and — therefore “cheating,” he doesn’t consider it free speech. And that already has some people thinking this could mark yet another policy shift by the Trump administration.
Trump complaining about people speaking negatively of him is rather ridiculous considering he just called Letterman a loser on Truth Social. And before that, during his campaigns, he called Kamala Harris a “low IQ” individual, accused Hillary Clinton of having “tremendous hate in her heart,” and insulted John McCain numerous times even after his death. But Jimmy Kimmel calling him out for celebrating a ballroom construction instead of consoling a grieving nation is, apparently, a touch too far for the president.
Perhaps for Trump, his countless verbal onslaughts on people like Kate Middleton didn’t quite pass his arbitrary 97% mark. But what’s clear is that nobody ever took him to court over what he said. In the aftermath of Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, supporters of the president keep citing his ban from Twitter and, even worse, the killing of Charlie Kirk as evidence that the left is just as excited over “cancelation” as the president is when it comes to speech they don’t like.
First of all, i would be wondering why 97% were bad and maybe do some self reflection, second of all, it is still free speech at 100%.
As an aside, I want to see how he got to 97%, that would be a fun spreadsheet to look at.
— Bob Ochoa (@ochoab1) September 19, 2025
There are different views on this matter, and they are all certainly getting their time in the sun. Joe Rogan has grown into a shining beacon that shows just how harmless cancel culture was — despite him being exposed for saying racial epithets on camera countless times and sharing unverified healthcare conspiracies, some still believe his presidential endorsement will go down as the most consequential one from the media for a long time to come. And yes, throughout that time there was considerable criticism coming from major networks toward Rogan — but Rogan never held his tongue about the networks either. Ultimately, that is free speech. What Trump is pushing for is a world where nobody is allowed to criticize him.
On X, a Trump supporter was celebrating his statement and expressing wishful thinking that this might mean Trump will finally reinstate the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948. The act is officially known as the US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948, crafted during the Cold War and meant to counter Soviet propaganda by broadcasting US information abroad but not within the borders of the US, in order to protect citizens from government propaganda.
Oh, it’s definitely coming…
President Trump hints that the Smith–Mundt Act will be RESTORED to its previous glory.
He says it was a miracle he won with 97% of the stories being published as negative.
It’s time to destroy what Obama did and go back to 1948.… pic.twitter.com/trrxFZb59i
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) September 20, 2025
In 2012, however, then-President Barack Obama modernized the act and made it possible for US citizens to access the information upon request. There’s a misconception that this meant the government has since been spewing propaganda to its citizens. The modernized act did not authorize the creation of new information targeted at US citizens — it simply made the information created through stations like Voice of America also available domestically.
The goal was always to give Americans a better understanding of foreign policy — but now Trump supporters are hoping Trump might reinstate the original act in its old form, simply so he can misinterpret it. Anything to curtail free speech.