Abstract

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Timothy Zick, of William and Mary Law School, to discuss his recent book, The First Amendment in the Trump Era. Aaron and Tim are talking about Democracy, our Constitution, the Press, and the law of the First Amendment – what it is and what it isn’t.

Are facts still facts? Can we find truth in today’s world?

Tim and Aaron address these concerns as they talk about the President’s dramatic, and unique, relationship with the press and his continuous attacks on the media. More than any other modern president, Trump has openly challenged fundamental First Amendment norms and principles relating to free speech and free press. Aaron and Tim break this down throughout the episode and Tim explains that this was one of his main motivations for writing the book. The two discuss Trump’s ability to control the news cycle, Nixon’s “Enemy List,” the pentagon papers, whistleblower protections, and delve deep into various other controversies, the “Twitter case,” alternative facts, as well as whether or not Trump is undermining the press and creating dangerous normalizations.

The First Amendment in the Trump Era catalogs and analyzes the various First Amendment conflicts that have occurred during the Trump presidency. It places these conflicts in historical context – as part of our current digitized and polarized era but also as part of a broader narrative concerning attacks on free speech and press. Tim argues that we must understand what is familiar about Trump’s presidency in terms of the First Amendment but also what is distinctive.

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Document Type

Podcast

Publication Information

Good Law | Bad Law (January 17, 2020)

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Run time: 58 minutes.

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