Democrats are reportedly preparing legislation to “protect speech targeted by Trump”, as the New York Times describes it. With Republicans in firm control of Congress and the executive branch, the move is symbolic — but in more ways than one. On one hand, it’s a symbol of the Left’s inch-deep concern for free expression, while on the other, it embodies both parties’ weaponisation of the idea itself.

According to the Times, the “No Political Enemies Act” is set to include “a series of legal protections for people targeted for political speech” and “would create a specific legal defense for those targeted for political reasons and allow them to recover attorney fees if they were subjected to government harassment for expressing their views”. Democrats also plan for the bill to “make it easier to sue federal officials for abusing their power to silence critics”.

Democrats’ sudden discovery of free speech values is just as hypocritical as Republicans like Attorney General Pam Bondi who pivoted to targeting “hate speech” after the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk. It was, after all, Democrats who for years pushed speech-restricting measures such as the Equality Act and Title IX reinterpretations. It was Democrats who supported the Global Engagement Center’s efforts to suppress anti-establishment media. And it was Democrats who organised — and applauded — advertiser boycotts of journalists at outlets like Fox News.

The party is actually fortunate this bill doesn’t stand a chance because it’s Democrats who, according to years of polling from Pew, have historically supported online censorship. Notably, Democratic support for the statement “The U.S. government should take steps to restrict false information online, even if it limits freedom of info” is at 58%, an increase of 18 points since 2018 and 15 points higher than Republicans.

The Left’s explicit decade-long crusade to narrow the legal boundaries of acceptable speech by inflating the definitions of words like “disinformation” and “hate” will not be easily forgotten, though major media outlets are already showing much greater interest in the Trump administration’s anti-speech policies. It’s inevitable that in the pursuit of raw political power, the driving force of a two-party system, Republicans and Democrats will always be looking to weaponise “free speech” concerns. This is depressingly clear right now.

In the aforementioned Pew polling, Republicans now oppose online censorship more than Democrats. Yet they still support it at higher levels than Democrats did when the question was first asked in 2018. As more of our discourse migrates online — into spaces policed by algorithms rather than dinner tables or backyard barbecues — the temptation to restrict speech is only growing.

This is reflected in Democrats’ proposed “No Political Enemies Act,” which is said to help fund legal challenges against lawmakers who “abuse their power to silence critics”. In practice, that could just as easily fuel more lawsuits targeting protected speech.

There is some consolation in the fact that Democrats believe they can ride the post-2024 “vibe shift” championed by Trump-curious comedians like Andrew Schulz and Tim Dillon, both of whom are displeased with the president. That suggests most Americans still cling, at least in theory, to the principle of free speech.

But with so many new tools of control available, that support may not last long. If both parties continue to treat speech not as a principle to be defended but as a weapon to be wielded, then “free expression” itself risks becoming an empty slogan. That future should scare us all.

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Emily Jashinsky is UnHerd‘s Washington correspondent.

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