Hannah Lynn, Contributing Writer
Free speech is a value that Americans hold dear. It is described as an inalienable or God-given right. However, is there a time when this inalienable right should be limited? This month, former President Donald J. Trump was issued a gag order by Judge Chutkan in the Washington D.C. court system that would limit his ability to talk about possible election interference from the previous 2020 presidential election.
A gag order is a restriction imposed by the courts that limits what information can be exposed to the public eye when a case is in session. This order does not just impact one person; and it affects everyone involved in the court hearing. In this instance, the gag order prevents former President Trump from speaking about the possibility of election interference in the 2020 presidential election while he is running for president in the 2024 election.
Dr. Austin Trantham, a political science professor at Saint Leo University, felt that the gag order was needed to ensure a civil trial. In many trials involving celebrities or political figures, valuable information often appears in the public eye, even when many precautions are taken. The gag order offers another layer of defense that helps to ensure the legitimacy of the trial and that the judge, not the media, gives the final verdict.
When asked about how the gag order could impact Trump’s chances of winning the election or if he had a strong enough voting base, Dr. Trantham shared, “I do not believe that the gag order will impact Trump’s chances of becoming the Republican presidential nominee next year. As we have seen with his past indictments and related legal issues, these events have only served to galvanize his support among Republican primary voters. In fact, his campaign team has used them as a prime fundraising opportunity,” Trantham said.
During his previous campaigns, Trump would use what he felt were injustices in the legal system and treatment by the democrats in office to show how he was the only person who should be president. He used this to show that he was a reasonable person in politics and also used the point that it was because he did not follow the “agenda” the Democrats wanted. He was doing it all for the American people, which helped him to gain support for his campaign.
When asked about how the gag order could impact the election overall, Dr. Trantham shared that, “Many voters are assumedly not following daily happenings in Donald Trump’s multiple trials in New York, Georgia, and Washington, D.C. closely at this stage. By November 2024, other legal issues may come to define Trump’s status as a presidential candidate. Ultimately, the gag order provides an opportunity for the Trump campaign to continue to build electoral support among his base by vilifying the judge who imposed it,” Trantham continued.
Dr. Trantham also pointed out that Trump’s opponents would not change their course of action and continue to show why they would be the best presidential candidate.
1 Comment
Awesome article.