Former President Donald Trump vowed Saturday to bring back free speech in America “because it’s being taken away,” after wowing 15,000 supporters by arriving to a Wisconsin rally in his private jet.
“They’ve taken away your free speech, and the fake news threat is a threat to this country,” said the Republican presidential nominee while speaking at the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, Wis.
Although Trump didn’t mention any journalists or media outlets by name, his remarks came two days after New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger had a scathing op-ed run in the Washington Post, warning “Trump stands out for his aggressive and sustained efforts to undermine the free press.”
Sulzberger also insisted Americans should be ready for Trump’s anti-media “play book” if he wins in November.
“When you’re a politician…, and you happen to be a Republican or somewhat conservative, they write just the opposite of what the facts are, and if you are driving a cab, if you’re an accountant, if you are a lawyer, if you are something other than that, you don’t know the details,” said Trump, who arrived at the airport in his Boeing 757 nicknamed “Trump Force One.”
“When we know the facts, and the story gets written the exact opposite of what it is, you start to lose faith in the press.”
Trump promised, if re-elected, to sign an executive order “banning any federal employee from colluding to limit speech” and to “fire any federal bureaucrat who engaged in domestic censorship under the Harris regime.”
Trump’s appearance was his fourth to Wisconsin during the campaign, but marked his first trip to the deep red, largely rural part of the key battleground state.
He also ripped Harris – who he’ll face in Tuesday’s high-stakes presidential debate — for loose border policies that created a national migrant crisis, which has led to spiking crime rates and drained taxpayers’ pockets nationwide.
Like Trump, Harris has been a frequent visitor to Wisconsin this year, a state where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point.
Polls of Wisconsin voters conducted since President Biden withdrew his re-election bid in July show Harris and Trump in a stalemate.
Democrats consider Wisconsin a must-win “blue wall” state.
Biden, who was in Wisconsin Thursday, won the state in 2020 by just under 21,000 votes, while Trump carried it by nearly 23,000 votes in 2016.
