A reporter asked President Donald Trump on Tuesday whether Attorney General Pam Bondi will prosecute Americans for hate speech.
Bondi said on “The Katie Miller Podcast” that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will “target” Americans for “hate speech” in light of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination. ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl asked Trump whether he is siding with Bondi or others in his party who believe hate speech is protected under the First Amendment.
“Pam Bondi’s saying she’s going to go after hate speech. A lot of your allies say hate speech is free speech,” Karl said.
“They’ll probably go after people like you,” Trump answered. “Because you treat me so unfairly, it’s hate. You’ve got a lot of hate in your heart. Maybe they’ll come after ABC. Well, ABC paid me $16 million recently for a form of hate speech. Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech, so maybe they’ll have to go after you. Look, we want everything to be fair. It hasn’t been fair. And the radical left has done tremendous damage to the country.”Â
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ABC agreed to pay $15 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the network in December 2024 after host George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed Trump was found liable of rape. He is currently suing the Wall Street Journal for alleging that Trump drew a naked woman on a birthday card for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and The New York Times for allegedly defaming his character and 2024 candidacy with “actual malice.”
Many conservatives harshly criticized Bondi for her threat to arrest Americans for hate speech, including The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh and Babylon Bee managing editor Joel Berry. White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller appeared to respond to Bondi by stating that the administration should not “mimic the ACLU of the mid-90’s.”
Bondi rushed to clarify her remarks by saying that speech that “crosses the line into threats of violence” will be prosecuted.
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