Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
Trump: 'We took the freedom of speech away'
Posted
October 8, 2025
Views
81,381
Likes
917
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1.13%
October 8, 2025
81,381
917
1.13%
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1:18Now PlayingPresident Donald Trump said Wednesday that, when it comes to burning the American flag during protests, his administration "took the freedom of speech away," even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled nearly four decades ago that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment.
“We took the freedom of speech away, because that’s been through the courts, and the courts said you have freedom of speech but what has happened is when they burn the flag, it agitates and irritates crowds,” the president said during a White House roundtable discussion on antifa, the term used to describe the decentralized movement that includes far-left-leaning militant groups. “I’ve never seen anything like it, on both sides, and you end up with riots.”
During his remarks, Trump referenced his August executive order that seeks to "prosecute those who incite violence or otherwise violate our laws while desecrating this symbol of our country, to the fullest extent permissible under any available authority," according to the text of the order.
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