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Friend,
Exactly six months ago, Donald Trump put his hand on a Bible and once again swore a constitutional oath to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States” and to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
It’s difficult to chronicle all the heinous actions and crises that have played out under his watch and at his direction. But one thing is clear: At every turn, Trump and his cronies have subverted, distorted and ignored the norms and duties of the offices they hold. Let’s break it down:
Preserve …
- The future of press freedom is more uncertain than ever1 as Trump’s attacks on journalists and public-media funding have been especially relentless. Many of you have added your names to our petitions and joined us in calling lawmakers2 this past week as they voted on the White House’s formal request to rescind funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
- Efforts to safeguard our environment are in dire straits as this administration rolls back climate initiatives, seeks to auction off public lands and hamstrings key agencies like FEMA and NOAA as we head into a dangerous season of hurricanes, wildfires and floods.3
Protect …
- This unending spree of reckless cuts — the next step of DOGE’s4 plan after Elon Musk shuttered USAID earlier this year — includes successful efforts to eliminate U.S. funding for UNICEF.5 That’s right: The oligarchs are sabotaging international health initiatives that combat food insecurity, infant and maternal mortality, and disease prevention. We are all more vulnerable to the next global pandemic.6
- Trump’s capricious, confusing tariffs have destabilized global relations and done nothing to help consumers. His eagerness for trade wars has overtaken any semblance of duty to protect the American people from economic hardship — and history teaches us that fascism flourishes in conditions like these.
Defend …
- The elevation of Musk to a prominent position of power — as well as the appointment of sycophantic FCC Chairman Brendan Carr7 — unleashed a campaign of censorship, data-privacy violations8 and overtures to the rest of the tech overlords to abandon content moderation.9 While Musk is no longer Trump’s BFF, the damage from DOGE is ongoing — and we are more defenseless against online disinformation and hatred than ever before.
- Trump is a violent warmonger at home and abroad, inflaming tensions in the Middle East and deploying an armed military presence on U.S. soil to intimidate protesters.10 In spite of this, millions have taken to the streets to tell Trump to keep his hands off immigrants, Social Security and Medicare — and to remind him he’ll never be our king.
Not exactly the faithful execution of the office of the president, if you ask us … but depending on who you ask, Trump has absolutely delivered. If you’re a billionaire or a bigot — and let’s face it, there’s a lot of overlap there — he’s has been the president of your dreams: #47 has outdone his predecessors in his dedication to corporate power, tax breaks for the oligarchy and the brutal scapegoating of minorities. Wealth and whiteness have long reigned supreme in this country, with this administration taking steps to entrench that power in perpetuity.
Free Press Action believes our country can and must be better.
It’s been a harrowing six months, and there’s no sugarcoating it: We can expect more horrors during the remaining three and a half years of Trump’s term. But we’ve seen such courage and determination from millions of people like you, and we’re asking you today to hold your head up high, find strength where you can and practice self-care as we keep pushing forward.
For us, we find strength in the ways we’ve been able to carve out victories — with your help — even with the odds stacked against us:
- New Jersey will budget $2.5 million in funding for the upcoming year toward its Civic Information Consortium — a landmark initiative that promotes informed communities and strengthens local journalism.11 That’s a big improvement over $0, the original budget allocation before our efforts prevailed.
- Oregon lawmakers pressed pause on a divisive local-news bill that would have reinforced corporate media power in the state and made local news harder to publicly access.12 Without us, conglomerates like Gannett and Sinclair would have only grown larger in the Beaver State and beyond.
- HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer” bill, has stalled out for now. If this had passed, the Treasury Secretary would have been able to unilaterally label any nonprofit a supporter of terrorism and strip it of its tax-exempt status.
- We mobilized thousands of people to drop by their lawmakers’ district offices, to protest Musk’s coup and to counterprogram Trump’s obscene birthday military parade with massive No Kings Day demonstrations.
- We organized in Chicago13 and Los Angeles14 to bring together communities and give space to reflect on what they need from their local news.
- We hosted an event on FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez’s nationwide First Amendment tour, where she sounded the alarm about this nation’s free-speech crisis and inspired others to follow in her courageous footsteps of resistance.15
Just as it’s important to keep a close eye on the atrocities of this regime, it’s important to celebrate when we’re able to break through with good news too. If you’re willing and able to contribute, we’d be proud to fight this fight together.
Please join us in pledging to defend free speech and stand in solidarity with everyone under threat from this corrupt regime.
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“I pledge to expose attacks on free expression and basic rights from those in power. I pledge to defend our freedom to think, speak, connect and access information without fear of retaliation. For the sake of our democracy, I will challenge authoritarian tactics designed to silence dissent and stand in solidarity with communities under attack.”
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Thank you for standing by our side,
Candace and the rest of the team at Free Press Action
1. “World Press Freedom Day Marks Grave Threats from Trump and Other Leaders,” Free Press Action, May 2, 2025
2. “When Public Media Is Under Attack, People Fight Back,” Free Press Action, March 7, 2025
3. “Trump Administration Sued by US States for Cutting Disaster Prevention Grants,” Reuters, July 16, 2025
4. “A Senate Vote This Week Will Test the Popularity of DOGE Spending Cuts,” ABC News, July 14, 2025
5. “Urge Congress to Protect Funding for UNICEF,” UNICEF, July 2025
6. “Pandemic Preparedness ‘Dramatically Eroding’ Under Trump, Experts Say,” The Guardian, June 10, 2025
7. “How FCC Chairman Carr Has Fueled Trump's Authoritarian Takeover,” Free Press Action, March 18, 2025
8. “Musk Is Waging an Illegal Assault on Americans' Privacy Rights,” Free Press Action, Feb. 11, 2025
9. “Zuckerberg, Musk and the Internet for Billionaires,” Free Press Action, Jan. 29, 2025
10. “Trump's Attacks on Protesters in Los Angeles Show Need to Protect Free Speech,” Free Press Action, June 10, 2025
11. “Major Win: New Jersey Civic Info Consortium Secures State Funding,” Free Press Action, July 10, 2025
12. “Problem-Plagued Oregon Journalism Bill Fails to Pass the State Senate,” Free Press Action, June 24, 2025
13. “Community Members in Chicago Advocate for the News They Need,” Free Press Action, May 14, 2025
14. “Riot to Repair: Reparative Journalism Built Through Communion,” Free Press Action, May 13, 2025
15. “FCC Commissioner Gomez Raises Alarm About Free-Speech Crisis,” Free Press Action, June 2, 2025
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