NPR’s Morning Edition: The Freedom of Students, Scientists, Students, Teachers and Students Despite the Trump Administration’s Backreaction
NPR’s Morning Edition spoke to legal experts, activists, immigration lawyers, scientists, students, teachers and others over several weeks to understand why.
As Morning Edition is about to start our series today, I want to show you something that struck me and the team as we looked at the state of free speech in the US. There is a chilling of what some Americans feel safe to say.
Scientists are scrubbing their reports and federal grant applications because the Trump administration has banned certain words. Some student activists are afraid that participating in protests could lead to deportation. Teachers are nervous about a new online portal where students or parents can file complaints about diversity, equity and inclusion lessons in class with the U.S. Department of Education.
When students ask questions about the current administration that don’t accurately portray it, it makes me pause, says E., a high school history teacher, who asked NPR to use her first initial for fear she could be reported for speaking out. “I’ve had to hold back, sometimes changing the subject abruptly, telling them that I can’t comment.”
Yet plenty of others — including anti-abortion activists, the far-right activist group Moms for Liberty and members of university Republican clubs — say they feel more free today to express views without fear of a backlash now that President Trump is back in office.
The president of the College Republicans at the University of California Berkeley says that they have more members who are willing to help them out, attach their faces to their club and be more conservative.
The Bollinger-Turley Argument: Two Perspectives on the Free Speech of the First Amendment and 2nd Child dies in Texas from Measles
Free speech ranked as the second most important issue for voters heading into the 2024 presidential election, ahead of crime, immigration and health care, according to a poll by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression taken a month before the election. Republicans were more likely to rate it “very important” and nearly half of Republican respondents said they spoke less freely under President Joe Biden than they did under President Trump.
You will hear from scientists, educators, activists from the left and far right, college Republicans, immigration attorneys and more. We asked you and our readers to tell us how they are feeling.
In one interview after the next, people asked us to obscure their full names or not record at all. Fear of government retribution, fear of the border, and fear of the people at the other side of the border were their reasons.
In order to understand what’s happening today, we start this morning by turning to two of the foremost scholars on the First Amendment and free speech.
Lee Bollinger and Jonathan Turley have different perspectives, and you will hear that. When it comes to the basic American right, the people on different sides of the ideological spectrum are more alike than different.
Up First Newsletter: Global Markets Plunge Due to Trade War. And, Second Child dies in Texas from Measles
Thousands of people participated in the Hands Off! demonstrations across the U.S. on Saturday to protest President Trump and Elon Musk’s actions. Marchers addressed cuts and layoffs in federal departments, mass deportations and more. There were more than 100 protests in more than a thousand locations in 50 states. Photographers from NPR recorded the rallies.
It’s a good morning. You are reading a newsletter. If you subscribe, you will get the news delivered to your inbox and you will be able to listen to the Up First radio show whenever you want.
Global markets have fallen drastically since President Trump launched a trade war against most of the world last Wednesday. Asian and European markets plunged overnight, and in the U.S., economists say the odds of a recession have increased. Goldman says that there’s a chance the U.S. will be in a recession if Trump doesn’t modify his plan for the biggest tariffs. If those tariffs hit, the bank predicts a recession.
Source: Global markets plunge due to trade war. And, 2nd child dies in Texas from measles
A Second Child has died in Texas due to Measles, a State Health Official Associated with the Delinquent Deportation of Abrego Garcia
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to bring back Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported last month to El Salvador. The administration has three hours to make the return happen. The Justice Department is appealing the judge’s order because AbregoGarcia is not in the United States.
A second child has died in Texas due to measles, according to state health officials. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attended the 8-year-old child’s funeral on Sunday. She has been identified as Daisy Hildebrand. The outbreak centered in Texas hit over 500 confirmed cases in her death. Until this year, the U.S. had not reported a measles death for nearly a decade.
