Contrarians, you have vanquished Donald Trump in case after case that your paid subscriptions have supported. I am now involved in over 125 legal matters against him—and counting! But now we face our greatest shared challenge yet, as Trump treats the killing of Charlie Kirk as his own 21st-century Reichstag fire to try to crack down on a wide array of his perceived adversaries. I genuinely believe he has set himself up for failure in the court of public opinion and the court of law—with your opposition.
Make no mistake. The killing of Kirk was terribly wrong. Political violence has no place in a democracy. But as I explained this week in a Contrarian essay with Tom Joscelyn and Susan Corke surveying the data about political violence, Trump is lying about it. Most of it comes from the right wing (as we explained in detail).
Of course, that doesn’t matter to Trump. He’s embarked on a series of illegitimate retaliatory actions.
Start with his onslaught on nonprofit organizations and charities. Trump is threatening a broad campaign against them that has nothing to do with Kirk’s killing despite his efforts to tie them together.
If he follows through, I stand ready to fight back in court. In the meantime, I was proud to help pull together a letter this week signed by over 500 of our nation’s leading nongovernmental organizations and charities calling this out in no uncertain terms. As the letter states:
Political violence has targeted those of every political persuasion and of no political persuasion. It is un-American and wrong to use this act of violence as a pretext for weaponizing the government to threaten nonprofit and charitable organizations, other perceived adversaries, or any class of people. They did not commit this murder, and the vast powers of the government should not be abused to threaten their constitutionally-protected free speech and other rights.
We implore the government to cease its escalation of political division, and stop the unjustified targeting of organizations and people in the wake of this terrible act of political violence.
These organizations work in communities across the country to protect our air and water and our rights to vote, to worship, and to organize; they fight for consumers, workers, and our children; they have made it safer to drive on our roads, easier to start a business, and healthier to live in our cities. These civil society groups are the pillars of American democracy.
That’s why Trump is attacking them! He wants to undermine the foundation of our democracy so he can replace it with his nightmarish authoritarian vision. He is reportedly developing plans to use the vast power of the executive branch to shut down, silence, and even criminally prosecute organizations he dislikes.
The regime will use every tool it has to intimidate and restrict innocent NGOs; it will likely use the language of terrorism to label organizations and even donors to those organizations as supporters of terror, which could cut them off from their bank accounts and their ability to raise money; and Trump might even use criminal laws like RICO to baselessly prosecute the people with whom he simply disagrees on politics.
No one should doubt that Trump will do what he says if you look at what he’s already done. He has brought criminal charges against a member of Congress engaging in protected congressional oversight. He’s also charged a judge for nothing more than controlling her courtroom and letting an undocumented migrant leave it. He’s launched criminal investigations of routine and benign statements on mortgage applications, including against a state attorney general who had the temerity to investigate him when he was out of office. Then, when his own handpicked U.S. Attorney refused to charge her, Trump forced him out of office. He will not hesitate to use the full force of the state for his totalitarian ambitions.
Corporations know it and are running scared. Just look at what Trump's mainstream media lapdogs at The Washington Post and ABC are doing under the pressure. The Post and its owner, Jeff Bezos, were already notorious for dismantling the paper (and, in particular, its editorial page) to curry favor and for the vast and varied ways that Bezos has managed to put money into the Trump family’s pockets. That ranges from Amazon contributing $1 million to his inauguration to paying $40 million for a documentary about Melania Trump (one that I wouldn't watch unless you paid me $40 million).
This week, the Post added to that record by sacking its last remaining Black columnist, Karen Attiah, for the unforgivable sin of doing opinion journalism. They apparently didn’t like that she illuminated the racial aspects of political violence.
Once upon a time, we would have asked if this was an act of “anticipatory obedience” or if the Post got a call from the administration. But that distinction is no longer as meaningful in a climate of constant direct attack by the administration on its enemies. Never mind “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” the Post is murdering democracy in broad daylight.
Then there is ABC and its parent, Disney, which suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for doing comedy. Like the Post, they, too, had long ago bowed down, settling a dubious defamation case brought by Trump for $15 million in an obvious act of groveling. As with the Post and Attiah, ABC and Disney punished Kimmel for doing his job: offering comedy and commentary.
In his case, it was pointing out that Kirk’s alleged shooter comes from a deep-red milieu. Even if Kimmel did not pick the best words in saying that the alleged shooter was “one of them,” we just had a Fox host talk about euthanizing the homeless with nary a peep from the government. Whereas here, everyone from the president to the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, which currently has a multibillion-dollar merger before it involving stations that carry Kimmel’s show, crashed down like a ton of bricks on ABC and Disney. They utterly collapsed under that pressure.
Thankfully, we have the Constitution—and the First Amendment. The government is not allowed to criminalize or silence speech. It also may not use its power to stop us from associating with our friends or forming a group with our next-door neighbors or communities across the country to advocate for our beliefs. The Supreme Court has long affirmed that the government cannot tell people what they must say or what they must believe.
The jurisprudence is clear: Government actions designed to baselessly shut down charitable organizations or chill speech are illegal. The American idea is not one of forced conformity and blind loyalty. It is one of open debate, free expression, and a vibrant civil society in which citizens can come together to advocate for change. That is why NGOS and individuals alike have been fighting back in the courts and will continue to do so, upholding our most important rights against a government that is determined to destroy them. The fight against this new McCarthyism is one for the soul of our democracy and the constitutional rights that make it worth defending.
Here at the Contrarian, we are proud to provide some of the best coverage anywhere of these issues—and, with your help, actually litigate them. Because we are owned by no one, all profits from your paid subscriptions go to support my and my colleagues’ pro-democracy litigation. Of course, they also go to support our journalism, and this week proved yet again why it was so indispensable….
The free speech crisis
The rampant rise in free-speech censorship, fueled by Trump, should alarm all Americans, no matter their politics. Jen Rubin offered seven concrete ways to push back against the administration’s new wave of assaults on the First Amendment.
Vance’s dangerous attack on free speech
Tom Joscelyn, Susan Corke, and Norm Eisen unpacked JD Vance and Stephen Miller’s baseless online justifications for censorship, which were both obviously false and the height of hypocrisy.
The Constitution makes it hard to punish incitement to violence
Austin Sarat explored the nuances of political expression and the First Amendment’s historic role in protecting it as new debates roil America in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. “Generalized threats and hateful rhetoric have not, so far, counted as an incitement to violence.”
Now That Jimmy Kimmel Has Been Pulled Off the Air, It’s Time for Hollywood to Grow a Spine
Meredith Blake explained how lucrative deals and fear are reshaping the entertainment industry as we know it—and that because industry executives won’t stand up to Trump, stars need to demand a new kind of spotlight.
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement
This week, we covered protests against the unconstitutional Disney/ABC suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, mobilizations in D.C. and New Hampshire, the less-than-warm welcome Trump received from some British citizens on a state visit, planning ahead for future demonstrations, and more. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org. And don't miss our roundup of ways to support the First Amendment: Speak up for Free Speech!
Understanding MAGA rage
The Killing of Charlie Kirk & the Online Alt-Right
Lily Conway analyzed the ecosystem of online alt-right extremists, whose rhetoric has more than once spilled into real life with lethal consequences. “We need to understand their symbols, memes, and indicators … for what they are: propaganda from a dangerous, usually isolated, group. Only then will we be equipped to take the necessary steps to curb the growth of these toxic communities.”
MAGA supporters have become real-life Manchurian candidates
Carron J. Phillips compared Trump’s puppeteering of his base—brought about by appeals to both grievance and privilege—to the brainwashing manipulations seen in The Manchurian Candidate. “Apparently, complicity is fine, but accountability feels as if it’s been eradicated.”
Adolescence, Charlie Kirk, and the Rush for Easy Answers
Meredith Blake drew parallels between the Emmy-winning British series about a socially isolated teenage killer and the circumstances surrounding Charlie Kirk’s assassination. “Adolescence has a lot to say about the corrosive influence of the internet and the increasing social isolation of boys and young men…. [But] its disquieting message is that we are all at fault.”
Health care under threat
Your health insurance is about to go up. Way up. Here’s why.
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure sounded the alarm on health insurance costs: If Congress fails to act against legislation spearheaded by Trump and congressional Republicans, premiums could jump by hundreds or even thousands of dollars, especially in rural counties where fewer insurers compete.
Neera Tanden joined Jen Rubin to discuss Republicans’ efforts to gut healthcare, the looming threat of a government shutdown, and the future of free speech. “Republicans chose to make people lose their health care….”
Jeff Nesbit wrote that the Trump administration’s politicization of the CDC has stripped the agency of leadership from qualified doctors and scientists—a dangerous and bizarre brain drain made all the more apparent in the sober testimony of a former CDC director to Congress.
Countering the authoritarian playbook
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gave us a rousing call to stand up for the democracy our own president desperately wants to extinguish. “I have spent the last few weeks addressing and preparing for a military invasion by the president of the United States. No, I’m not a soldier or a foreign adversary. I’m the Governor of Illinois.”
[podcast] The Authoritarian Playbook, Drones in Poland & a Gen-Z Revolt in Nepal
This week on the Contrarian podcast, Tim Mak commented on Russia sending drones into Poland and what it means for NATO, and Ruth Ben-Ghiat explained the mindset of dictators. “If you lose hope that you can effect change, that collectively, change can be affected, then you’ve really given in.”
The danger in stoking fear to scapegoat political enemies
Tom Malinowski examined how public fear and fury create the conditions for political violence to thrive—and how we can choose not to be intimidated. “The best response is … to argue with them, to ridicule them, to sue them, and to win every election between now and November 2026.”
Split Screen: Listening as an act of resistance
With no end in sight for Trump’s D.C. occupation, Azza Cohen wrote on how the thundering of helicopters has become residents’ new soundscape and how we must resist efforts to normalize it. “The noise of war should not be normal in any U.S. city.”
Meanwhile in Congress
Norm Ornstein wrote on the tactics Senate Republicans are using to undermine the rule of law as a government shutdown looms, and how Democrats must give no quarter. “Bold action is needed to reassure Democratic voters that their party’s leaders are fighting back against such thuggery.”
Democrats: Giving D.C. to Trump won’t get you re-elected
As election season nears, several swing-district House Democrats are weighing support for Trump’s uncalled-for takeover of D.C. in hopes of boosting their chance at re-election. Ankit Jain argued that this approach could damage the future of the party and the nation.
People are ready for reform. Is Congress?
Nick Penniman, founder of the bipartisan pro-democracy nonprofit Issue One, wrote on how polls show a strong majority of Americans believe Trump’s abuses of power have gone too far—a popular mandate Congress must keep in mind if the Constitution is to survive.
Cartoons, Pets, Recipes
Our cartoonists this week weighed in on the state of free speech (Calder Robinson; Nick Anderson; Michael de Adder); health care (RJ Matson); and the politics of violence (Tom the Dancing Bug).
Culture Recs: Robert Redford's Cinematic Legacy
Meredith Blake bid farewell to an American icon, whose contributions as an actor, director, and co-founder of the Sundance Film Festival influenced a half-century-plus of our cinema.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Marbled Brownies
Jaime Schler took us to a mythic place—the events of the past week remind her of Prometheus and Pandora, aka what happens when we play with fire—en route to a delicious place: Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Brownies to soothe the soul.
And last but never least: Meet Tristan! RJ Matson’s terrier mix splits time between shredding cardboard boxes and serving as the “unofficial, unelected” mayor of his Maine hometown.
There you have it, Contrarians—another incredible week of content. Please join us at 9:15 a.m. ET on Monday for Coffee with the Contrarians. Until then, have a great weekend. Warmly, Norm
My question is, if the military has already obeyed illegal orders by murdering the “narcoterrorists”, what is to stop them when it comes to American citizens.
Truck Fump. And his little minions, too. Every day, louder and louder, the Resistance grows stronger. He just lost his Emperor’s Beautiful New Clothes $15 billion vanity lawsuit against The New York Times, with the presiding judge barely able to conceal his contempt and laughter.
The whole Rube Goldberg contraption creaks and sways violently in the wind. They are not winning. Winter is coming. They are not prepared, and they know it.