Trump 2.0: Executive Power and the First Amendment - Tim Zick

Trump 2.0: Executive Power and the First Amendment Tim Zick ISBN 9781531034931

During President Trump’s second term, the Administration issued an unprecedented volume of executive orders and agency actions that raised serious concerns about First Amendment freedoms. Many observers contend that this period may prove the most consequential for free speech and press rights since the McCarthy era of the 1950s. The turbulence of “Trump 2.0” has created significant challenges for understanding how expansive executive power can threaten expressive freedoms.

This book systematically catalogs, organizes, and analyzes the First Amendment controversies of the Trump 2.0 era, drawing broader lessons from them. Using executive orders, lower-court decisions, pleadings, agency guidance letters, and related materials, it examines how executive action affected speech, press, and expressive activity. Each chapter includes concise doctrinal overviews and problem-based exercises designed to promote classroom discussion and deeper understanding. A distinctive feature of the book is its attention to how law firms, universities, corporations, scientists, libraries, and other institutions responded in real time to executive actions.

From these materials, the book explores what the current era reveals about the capacity—and limits—of courts and First Amendment doctrine to safeguard freedom of expression. Instructors can readily use the text to integrate Trump 2.0 controversies into standard First Amendment courses, or as a standalone resource for seminars focused on executive power and free expression.

The materials are also well suited for clinical instruction, illustrating how lawyers can counsel clients targeted or regulated by government agencies. While rooted in the Trump 2.0 experience, the book will be of interest to anyone who studies, values, or exercises First Amendment rights.

Trump 2.0: Executive Power and the First Amendment Tim Zick ISBN 9781531034931, 978-1531034931 & 9781531034948

Author
Tim Zick