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1/ The 1st Amendment protects free speech for everyone. It protects the President's critics. It protects the President himself. It protects his defenders. All should exercise their free speech right responsibly, but it is protected even when they exercise it irresponsibly.
2/ Whether we're talking about college campuses or the broader society, the way to deal with speech we disapprove of, or regard as biased or unfair or otherwise irresponsible, it to criticize it--exercising our own free speech rights. We should not try to silence the other guy.
3/ The right to freedom of speech was hard won and could easily be lost. Its importance to truth-seeking and democracy is underappreciated. We take it too much for granted. It must be defended, whether assaults on it come from the left or the right, from academics or politicians.
4/ I'm grateful to all who have joined Professor @cornelwest and me in defending freedom of speech as vital to the success of our academic institutions and to the functioning of our democratic republic: jmp.princeton.edu/statement
