{"id":3501,"date":"2026-07-17T19:37:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=3501"},"modified":"2026-07-17T19:37:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T19:37:20","slug":"trumps-constitutional-dumpster-dive-torn-apart-by-comedian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=3501","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s ‘Constitutional dumpster dive’ torn apart by comedian"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Comedian and podcaster John Fugelsang says 228 years ago this week, President John Adams signed one of the great constitutional embarrassments in American history; the Alien and Sedition Acts. And today, President Donald Trump is \u201cdumpster diving\u201d through the Constitution to attack comedians and people who dare to laugh at him or disagree.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump just gave a huge gift to Russia that will upend global power<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou always know an authoritarian is terrified when they willfully confuse dissent with danger. But they\u2019re not the same, folks,\u201d said Fugelsang on his substack. \u201cA peaceful protest isn\u2019t America hate, a critical editorial isn\u2019t assisting our enemies, and a comedian making fun of politicians isn\u2019t the collapse of civilization.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Alien and Sedition Acts did four things. In addition to making it harder for immigrants to become citizens and letting the president deport non-citizens he calls \u201cdangerous,\u201d it also expanded wartime detention powers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd \u2014 this is the incredible one \u2014 they made it a crime to publish \u2018false, scandalous and malicious\u2019 criticism of the government,\u201d added Fugelsang. \u201c\u2026 Adams helped give us independence; then attempted to give himself independence from criticism. Imagine creating a law that says criticizing politicians is illegal. I mean, that could get the Stephen Colbert show cancelled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t shock you to know that the Sedition Act wasn\u2019t applied equally,\u201d Fugelsand said. \u201cIt overwhelmingly targeted editors and political opponents aligned with Thomas Jefferson; because \u2018protecting democracy\u2019 now meant persecuting the administration\u2019s critics.\u201d<\/p>\n

This, said Fugelsang, was the first generation of Americans wasting \u201cabsolutely no time disappointing the second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Secret Service is blocking a subpoena for Donald Trump Jr.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to square Adams being one of America\u2019s indispensable founders with the fact that he also signed one of the greatest assaults on free political speech in our early history, Fugelsang noted. But patriotism isn\u2019t pretending great leaders never made terrible decisions. It\u2019s learning from them.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, history is less of a teacher in the Age of Trump, and more like a deeply embarrassed parent,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 then Combover Caligula used your tax dollars to argue, in court, that street gangs operating within the U.S. are literally acting as extensions of a foreign government. \u2026 And so Trump used John Adams\u2019 200-year-old law as vulgar pretense to deport thousands, including legal asylum seekers, often violently, without the standard immigration court reviews. But the law was written for wartime spies. Not nannies and Uber drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the good news is that more than two centuries later, nobody bought Adam\u2019s argument, said Fugelsang.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe public wasn\u2019t fooled. Jefferson and Madison fought back, journalists kept publishing, and voters in the young Republic remembered,\u201d said Fugelsang. \u201cAnd in 1800, John Adams lost, having been handed a very clear performance review. And the lesson is true today. If you\u2019re trying to keep power by attacking, suing or trying to silence people who criticize you, you probably shouldn\u2019t keep power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory doesn\u2019t repeat itself,\u201d Fugelsang said, \u201cbut bad politicians tend to plagiarize it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Trump aide points finger at president for \u2018legalizing insider trading\u2019 schemes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comedian and podcaster John Fugelsang says 228 years ago this week, President John Adams signed one of the great constitutional embarrassments in American history; the Alien and Sedition Acts. 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