By Ann Higgins
Photo by Deniz Fuchidzhiev on Unsplash
Having tried to avoid mentioning the dire situation in the US in the last few editions of the newsletter, sadly I find myself unable to carry that on any longer. Try as we might, that dratted man (I think we all know who I mean) will just keep poking his nose into places where it isn’t welcome, such as our internal affairs. Even yesterday during his seemingly interminable speech to the UN, he could not resist having a pop at London Mayor Sadiq Khan implying the latter wants to introduce Sharia law to London. That Khan has never suggested such a thing makes no difference to Trump, of course. He also managed to insult both the UN itself and virtually every other country on the planet and their inhabitants as well as propounding his views on climate change and “the falsely named renewables”. If you have the stomach for it, a full commentary by American history professor and blogger Heather Cox Richardson is here.
Of course, Trump has not been alone in making inappropriate comments about UK affairs. What seems like an age ago but was in fact only three weeks ago or so, the words of Elon Musk were broadcast to a crowd estimated at around 150,000 which had gathered at the end of the march organised in central London by Stephen Yaxley Lennon. In its article discussing the legality of what was said by Musk, The Guardian recorded his calling for the “dissolution of parliament” and a “change of government” and continuing: “This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business. My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here.
Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”
As explained here, his words, which some might interpret as a call to the violent overthrow of the UK government, do not appear to break any laws. Some might view this as somewhat ironic given that both Trump and VP Vance continue to lecture the UK on its laws on free speech. Trump, in particular, is doing his best to render the First Amendment to the US Constitution meaningless, as he seeks to use his presidential and economic power to censure and/or silence any and every critic actual or potential from universities and academics to the media and even comedians. In the wake of the death of Charlie Kirk, many people have found themselves sacked simply for expressing a less than favourable view of him, which seems to fall foul of one of Trump’s first executive orders which was entitled “Restoring Freedom of Speech and ending Federal Censorship”. Free speech for thee but not for me it seems.
