Every now and again, leftists in government and media will accidentally admit their agenda. That’s what happened during a press conference yesterday when an alleged journalist asked the White House what it planned to do about former President Donald Trump’s conversation with X owner Elon Musk.
The exchange highlights the fact that there remain forces in the United States who actively wish to undermine the First Amendment – at least when it comes to their political opposition. While the Constitution makes it harder for the state to suppress speech directly, it won’t always be this way if we fail to recognize those who seek to subvert or even overturn First Amendment protections.
During Monday’s White House press briefing, Washington Post “reporter” Cleve Wootson asked whether the Biden administration would intervene to prevent the interview between Trump and Musk.
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WOOTSON: Elon Musk is slated to interview Donald Trump tomor- — tonight on — on X. I don’t know if the president is going to tune in. Feel free to say if he is or not. (Laughter.)
But I — I think that misinformation on Twitter is not just a campaign issue. It’s a — you know, it’s an America issue. What role does the White House or the president have in sort of s topping that or stopping the spread of that or sort of inter- — intervening in that?
Some of that was about campaign misinformation, but, you know, it’s a wider thing, right?
JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah, no, and you’ve heard us talk about this many times from here, about the responsibilities that social media platforms have when it comes to misinformation, disinformation. Don’t have anything to read out from here about specific ways that we’re working on it. But we believe that — that they have the responsibility. These are private companies, so we — we’re also mindful of that too.
But, look, it is — I think it — it is incredibly important to — to call that out, as you are — you’re doing. I just don’t have any specifics on — on what we have been doing internally.
As re- — as it relates to the interview, it’s not something that I’m tracking, and I’m sure the president is not tracking it either.
The implication of Wootson’s question is clear: He was suggesting that the government should step in supposedly to prevent the spread of “misinformation,” one of the left’s favorite words nowadays.
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RedState’s Streiff did not mince any words when he highlighted the problem with this line of questions:
The idea that a reporter would think that the White House has any legal means to interfere with any American, particularly a candidate for the presidency in an election year, saying any damn thing they want to, demonstrates how thoroughly corrupt and fascist-adjacent the mainstream press has become.
He’s not wrong. Far too many members of the activist media, along with hard leftist politicians, are all too willing to use the power of the state to crack down on dissenting speech under the guise of policing misinformation and disinformation.
Unfortunately for these people, the First Amendment is still a thing. This has not stopped forces within the government from trying to silence speech on digital platforms, however. Indeed, the Twitter Files brought to light the fact that governmental agencies are actively pressuring platforms to censor users who post content that runs against progressive narratives.
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The authoritarian left cares nothing for freedom of expression. Their objective is to rule over the rest of us, which can’t be done if we are allowed to voice our views publicly without the state trying to punish us.
This question also illustrates how far these people are willing to go to maintain a level of supremacy over digital platforms. It is why they have been weeping and gnashing their teeth ever since Musk took over X.
Mainstream activist media outlets, which Wootson represents, have long been lambasted for their obvious bias against those on the right. This exchange highlights that the press, by and large, is not on the side of the people; they exist only to advance a political agenda.
This is why it is so important for us to realize that the First Amendment is not sacrosanct to everyone. There are forces in this country seeking to subvert or even abolish protections for speech. They would prefer the United States to resemble the United Kingdom, which routinely punishes people for what they say online.