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'People Are Going Silent': Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves
‘People Are Going Silent’: Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves
Reposted by Domestic Enemy Hat
Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social
·
4h
This (gift link) is scary / depressing on how fear of retaliation by Trump has silenced much of civil society, from business to law to the press to university leadership. Wesleyan president Michael Roth is a lonely profile in courage here, and makes me proud of my family's connection to Wesleyan.
Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves (Gift Article)
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
www.nytimes.com
·
4h
This (gift link) is scary / depressing on how fear of retaliation by Trump has silenced much of civil society, from business to law to the press to university leadership. Wesleyan president Michael Roth is a lonely profile in courage here, and makes me proud of my family's connection to Wesleyan.
Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves (Gift Article)
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
www.nytimes.com
https://bsky.app/profile/walterolson.bsky.social/post/3ljqw4wl2fs2u
'People Are Going Silent': Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves
{snip picture}
More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond. By Kenny Holston/The New York Times
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
By Elisabeth Bumiller
Reporting from Washington
March 6, 2025
The silence grows louder every day. … Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name. University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire. Chief executives alarmed by tariffs that could hurt their businesses are on mute.
Even longtime Republican hawks on Capitol Hill, stunned by President Trump’s revisionist history that Ukraine is to blame for its invasion by Russia, and his Oval Office blowup at President Volodymyr Zelensky, have either muzzled themselves, tiptoed up to criticism without naming Mr. Trump or completely reversed their positions.
More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond. … People on both sides of the aisle who would normally be part of the public dialogue about the big issues of the day say they are intimidated by the prospect of online attacks from Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, concerned about harm to their companies and frightened for the safety of their families. Politicians fear banishment by a party remade in Mr. Trump’s image and the prospect of primary opponents financed by Mr. Musk, the president’s all-powerful partner and the world’s richest man.
“When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism,” said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard and the co-author of the influential 2018 book “How Democracies Die.”
Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor, said rather than outright authoritarianism, there could be “a slow and gradual slide into a gray area.” Tony Luong for The New York Times
{snip}
Elisabeth Bumiller is a writer-at-large for The Times. She was most recently Washington bureau chief. Previously she covered the Pentagon, the White House, the 2008 McCain campaign and City Hall for The Times. More about Elisabeth Bumiller
{snip picture}
More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond. By Kenny Holston/The New York Times
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
By Elisabeth Bumiller
Reporting from Washington
March 6, 2025
The silence grows louder every day. … Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name. University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire. Chief executives alarmed by tariffs that could hurt their businesses are on mute.
Even longtime Republican hawks on Capitol Hill, stunned by President Trump’s revisionist history that Ukraine is to blame for its invasion by Russia, and his Oval Office blowup at President Volodymyr Zelensky, have either muzzled themselves, tiptoed up to criticism without naming Mr. Trump or completely reversed their positions.
More than six weeks into the second Trump administration, there is a chill spreading over political debate in Washington and beyond. … People on both sides of the aisle who would normally be part of the public dialogue about the big issues of the day say they are intimidated by the prospect of online attacks from Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, concerned about harm to their companies and frightened for the safety of their families. Politicians fear banishment by a party remade in Mr. Trump’s image and the prospect of primary opponents financed by Mr. Musk, the president’s all-powerful partner and the world’s richest man.
“When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism,” said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard and the co-author of the influential 2018 book “How Democracies Die.”
Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor, said rather than outright authoritarianism, there could be “a slow and gradual slide into a gray area.” Tony Luong for The New York Times
{snip}
Elisabeth Bumiller is a writer-at-large for The Times. She was most recently Washington bureau chief. Previously she covered the Pentagon, the White House, the 2008 McCain campaign and City Hall for The Times. More about Elisabeth Bumiller
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