Even conservatives push back after AG Pam Bondi wrongly claims ‘hate speech’ isn’t protected

It’s been quite a couple of days for Pam Bondi. The attorney general is twisting herself into a pretzel, first acting all tough about banning so-called “hate speech,” and then trying to explain what she meant after getting slammed from all sides of the political spectrum.

This all has come about in the aftermath of the shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

On a podcast hosted by Katie Miller, wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, Bondi said, “There's free speech and then there's hate speech, and there is no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie, in our society. … We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”

But as MSNBC’s Jordan Rubin points out, “That sounds like the sort of thing that maybe could be true, especially coming from a nominally authoritative figure like the attorney general of the United States. But she’s incorrect. The law doesn’t make such a distinction. The point has been reinforced by none other than Justice Samuel Alito, certainly no wilting liberal.”

In a 2017 opinion, Alito wrote, “Speech that demeans on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, or any other similar ground is hateful; but the proudest boast of our free speech jurisprudence is that we protect the freedom to express ‘the thought that we hate.’”

Even conservatives criticized Bondi’s remarks.

Charles C. W. Cooke, a senior editor at National Review, wrote, “Actually, she won’t. She won’t ‘target’ or ‘go after’ anyone for ‘hate speech,’ because, legally, there is no such thing as ‘hate speech’ in the United States, and because, as a government employee, she is bound by the First Amendment. And if she tries it anyway? The Supreme Court will side against her, 9-0.”

Again, Bondi also said, “There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech. And there’s no place, especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie.”

To which Cooke wrote, “No, no, no. This distinction is false, incorrect, imaginary. It does not exist. It is a fiction. Under every relevant Supreme Court precedent, speech is speech is speech. There are other categories of speech: libel, incitement, threats, and so on. But speech that is supposedly ‘hateful’ — including about Charlie Kirk’s murder — is undoubtedly protected by the Constitution.”

Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume tweeted, “Someone needs to explain to Ms. Bondi that so-called ‘hate speech,’ repulsive though it may be, is protected by the First Amendment. She should know this.”

Many even referred to remarks that Kirk himself made in a May 2024 tweet: “Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There's ugly speech. There's gross speech. There's evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free.”

Eventually, Bondi had to clarify her remarks. She said in a statement Tuesday, “Freedom of speech is sacred in our country, and we will never impede upon that right. My intention was to speak about threats of violence that individuals incite against others.”

Bondi added, “Under President Trump, the Department of Justice will be unabashed in our efforts to root out credible, violent threats. We will investigate organizations that pursue illegal activities, engage in political violence, violate our civil rights, and commit tax or nonprofit fraud.”

In another baffling statement involving free speech and rights under the law, Bondi also said on Fox News this week that businesses must allow fans of Charlie Kirk to print posters in honor of him. An Office Depot employee in Michigan reportedly refused to print flyers advertising a vigil for conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Bondi said, “Businesses cannot discriminate. If you wanna go in and print posters with Charlie’s pictures on them for a vigil, you have to let them do that. We can prosecute you for that.”

Again, even the right was bothered by Bondi’s claims.

Conservative creator Matt Walsh wrote on X, “Get rid of her. Today. This is insane. Conservatives have fought for decades for the right to refuse service to anyone. We won that fight. Now Pam Bondi wants to roll it all back for no reason. The employee who didn’t print the flyer was already fired by his employer. This stuff is being handled successfully through free speech and free markets. This is totally gratuitous and pointless. We need the AG focused on bringing down the left wing terror cells, not prosecuting Office Depot for God’s sake.”

The disturbing part is Bondi’s failure to recognize exactly what “free speech” is, how it’s protected, and that she was so adamant about her position of targeting those she believed were engaging in “hate speech.”

As Rubin wrote for MSNBC, “But putting aside the clear political hypocrisy, the legal fact remains that there’s no hate speech exception to the First Amendment. On the one hand, that’s comforting insofar as it should defeat any prosecutions attempted by the administration against people for protected speech. Yet, even if one is ultimately successful in defeating any frivolous legal moves, that comfort only extends so far under an administration whose words and actions show that it has gone after and will continue to go after people and groups it sees as its opponents. Regardless of the outcome, no one should want to be targeted in the first place.”

He added, “Beyond this one important speech issue, Bondi’s error raises a broader question: If the attorney general is incorrect about this basic legal premise, what other errors might she be making when it comes to the range of crucial matters that face the Justice Department every day?”

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But, wait, there’s more

ABC News’ Jonathan Karl asked President Donald Trump about Bondi’s “hate speech” comments. Trump wasted no time threatening Karl.

During a scrum outside the White House, Karl asked Trump, “What do you make of Pam Bondi saying she’s going to go after hate speech? Is that, I mean, a lot of people, a lot of your allies, say hate speech is free speech?”

Trump responded by saying, “She’d probably go after people like you! Because you treat me so unfairly! It’s hate! You have 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, right? Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech, so maybe they’ll have to go after you.”

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted, “Donald Trump says he will send the DOJ after the press if they say things he doesn’t like.”

Jessica Tarlov, the liberal voice on Fox News’ “The Five,” tweeted, “The party of free speech strikes again.”

And former ABC News correspondent Terry Moran tweeted, “The mask is off. Trump defines ‘hate speech’ as anything that wounds his fragile ego. And now he seems to want to jail those whose speech displeases him. This is what petty autocrats always seek to do: Make their whims law. Not here. Not in America.”

Trump sues The New York Times

President Donald Trump’s assault on the media continues. The latest in what feels like a never-ending string of lawsuits, Trump is suing The New York Times for $15 billion, claiming the Times is a “full-throated mouthpiece of the Democrat Party.”

The defendants in the suit include The New York Times Company and journalists Susanne Craig, Russ Buettner, Peter Baker and Michael S. Schmidt. Trump is also suing Penguin Random House, which published a book about Trump written by Craig and Buettner, as a defendant.

Trump claims that several Times articles and the book were “specifically designed to try and damage President Trump’s business, personal and political reputation.”

In a statement, the Times said, “This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor.”

According to the Times, publisher A.G. Sulzberger said in a note to staff that the lawsuit was “frivolous,” adding that “everyone, regardless of their politics, should be troubled by the growing anti-press campaign led by President Trump and his administration.”

Poynter’s Angela Fu wrote about the suit and spoke to several experts who doubted Trump’s odds.

David M. Snyder, an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida who teaches about and practices media law, noted the judge in the case is someone who follows the law “scrupulously.”

“If they were looking for a judge who is going to, you know, be a partisan, this is the wrong judge to end up in front of,” Snyder said. “He is not a partisan. He follows the law very strictly in my experience.”

In addition, Fu wrote, “Regardless of venue, Trump must meet a high burden to prove he was defamed. Under the precedent established by the 1964 Supreme Court ruling in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, public figures seeking to win a defamation case must prove that the defendant either knowingly published a false statement about them or published a false statement with ‘reckless disregard’ for the truth.”

Katie Fallow, the deputy litigation director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told Fu that Trump’s lawsuit appears “frivolous” on its face. It includes boasts of Trump’s accomplishments and a digression attacking the Times’ “deranged” endorsement of former Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

“None of that is the actual subject of the legal theory,” Fallow told Fu. As a result, the complaint reads more like a “very long Truth Social post” raising the “long-standing beef” between Trump and the Times than a “proper” defamation complaint, Fallow said.

Fu is documenting actions like this, which affect freedom of the press in the U.S., in Poynter’s Press Freedom Watch.

Anchor resigns

A news anchor at a local TV station in Illinois says she has resigned following her suspension for giving an on-air tribute to Charlie Kirk.

Beni Rae Harmony, who worked at WICS-ABC20 in Springfield, Illinois, wrote on X, “Many in the mainstream media have been fired or punished for mocking his assassination. I believe I am the first to be targeted for honoring him on air. My resignation is guided by values that are essential to who I am, which I refuse to set aside in order to keep a job. I choose my faith and love of country, and always will.”

Harmony included the one-minute, 17-second clip of what she called a “non-partisan” tribute to Kirk — which is apparently what got her suspended. The clip included a photo of Kirk behind her, and she gave her very emotional speech through tears and a cracking voice. Her LinkedIn page said she worked at Kirk’s Turning Point USA as a podcast assistant and administrator from August 2021 to February 2022. The 31-year-old had been at the TV station since August 2024.

No word on how long Harmony’s suspension would have been.

Remembering Robert Redford

Robert Redford, one of America’s greatest and best-known actors, has died. He was 89.

He was so much more than an actor. Aside from his remarkable career on the big screen, Redford was an Oscar-winning director, an activist and a champion of independent movies through his founding of the Sundance Film Festival.

But most of all, he was a movie star in the truest sense of the words. For excellent remembrances of his remarkable career and life, check out Brooks Barnes’ piece for The New York Times, Adam Bernstein’s story for The Washington Post and The Associated Press’ Lindsey Bahr with “11 of Robert Redford’s most memorable performances and where to watch them.” And here’s Variety’s Ellise Shafer and Pat Saperstein with “Robert Redford’s Career in Photos.”

Of course, because this is a media newsletter, we must talk about Redford’s performance as Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in “All the President’s Men.” The 1976 film about Post’s coverage of Watergate is considered one of the greatest movies ever made about journalism (it was No. 1 on my 2021 list of the best 25 movies about journalism).

At the time, I wrote, “The nail-biting (even though you already know the ending) gold standard is the reason many journalists reading this went into the business.”

About the legacy of the film, Redford was once quoted as saying, “The role and fate of journalism is an ongoing issue and constantly needs to be looked at and looked after.”

The best of Redford

Very few actors have made 10 great — truly great — films. Redford is one of them. Who doesn’t love a good list? So here is my pick for Redford’s 10 best films as an actor.

• All The President’s Men
• Three Days of the Condor
• The Sting
• The Candidate
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Barefoot in the Park
• The Natural
• Out of Africa
• Jeremiah Johnson
• Downhill Racer

A few other movies could’ve made the list — “The Way We Were,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Indecent Proposal” — but I’m pretty sure of my top 10. What’s on yours?

Also, a special shoutout to an early TV role, well before he was famous. In a 1962 episode of “The Twilight Zone” titled “Nothing in the Dark,” Redford played an injured police officer who was, actually, the personification of Death trying to get an elderly woman to come with him. It turned out to be a touching and sweet ending thanks to the wonderful performances of Redford and Gladys Cooper.

ESPN’s stunning news

 

Molly Qerim, the excellent host of ESPN’s “First Take” alongside Stephen A. Smith, has abruptly resigned from the show. Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp reported Monday that Qerim is leaving the network at the end of the year. This all appears to be about money. Karp wrote, “Sources tell SBJ that ESPN offered Qerim a contract, but she chose to move on.”

Qerim addressed her departure on Instagram, writing, “After much reflection, I’ve decided it’s time to close this incredible chapter and step away from First Take. Hosting this show has been one of the greatest honors of my career. Every morning, I had the privilege of sharing the desk with some of the most brilliant, passionate, and entertaining voices in sports -- and with all of you, the best fans in the world.”

Smith started Tuesday’s show talking about Qerim, saying, “She’s hosted ‘First Take’ for 10 years and elevated the show with her grace, her expertise, her incomparable kindness. She’s been an enormous part of our success for a decade. Not only did she keep me and many others in line, she did it with dignity, class and kindness to say the least.”

Smith is spot on in that commentary. Qerim managed to control the show alongside Smith and his very big personality, as well as other ESPN guests who appeared on the show. She managed to keep the show flowing, allowing for the large personalities to have their say without letting the show completely fly off the rails.

Later Tuesday on his SiriusXM show, Smith seemed to be referring to contract talks between ESPN and Qerim and said, “To say that I’m quite sad about it is an understatement. Molly is a friend. Molly is a co-worker. Molly is somebody that I’ve leaned on on many occasions in the past, as she has done when it comes to me. We’ve been partners on the show for the last 10 years, and a lot of times some of these things happen, and it’s just uncomfortable to see.”

He added, “The details, quite frankly, are none of y’all’ business. It’s not as if I know all the details. It was a contract negotiation that was going on. ESPN certainly did not want to lose her. But in the end, she made her decision to walk away from the show effective immediately. To be blunt, it came as a shock. I was not aware that this is something that she was contemplating doing. But in the end, she made her decision and we have to move on as a show.”

Smith went on to say, “I don’t like it. I’m not happy about it because I appreciate her and what she has meant to me, and what she has meant to the show, and what she has meant to the business. And I’m going to miss her. It’s just that simple.”

ESPN president of content Burke Magnus said in a statement, "Molly has been an integral part of ESPN since 2006 and a key driver of First Take’s success since joining as host a decade ago. She elevated the show with her poise, skill and professionalism, while supporting others as a kind and encouraging teammate. We respect Molly’s decision, wish her the best in the future, and thank her for her extraordinary daily commitment to sports fans and ESPN.”

Who replaces her? Awful Announcing’s Ben Axelrod has “5 potential Molly Qerim replacements on ‘First Take.’”

ESPN will likely find a decent replacement and the show will survive just fine. But losing the underrated Qerim hurts. She knows how to host that show.

WriteLane podcast returns with focus on award-winning journalism

For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague, Jennifer Orsi.

For six years, the “WriteLane” podcast, hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer Lane DeGregory of the Tampa Bay Times and veteran narrative and enterprise editor Maria Carrillo, was a much-loved deep dive into great journalism and storytelling.

After a hiatus, the podcast is back, with Poynter partnering with the “WriteLane” team on a limited run this fall. DeGregory and Carrillo will talk to some of the winners of the 2025 Poynter Journalism Prizes about their distinguished work — from the reporter who found ways to earn the trust of the families of pregnant women who died in states with abortion bans to how a longtime columnist continues to share fresh stories from his city and more.

The first episode premiered Tuesday and features Kavitha Surana of ProPublica, a member of the team that won the Poynter Journalism Prizes Batten Medal, and this year’s public service Pulitzer Prize, for the series Life of the Mother, which explored some consequences of strict abortion bans after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

The podcast is sponsored by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. You can subscribe wherever you get podcasts, including Apple and Spotify, or watch on Poynter’s YouTube channel.

While you’re there …

Be sure to subscribe to “The Poynter Report Podcast,” where I chat about the latest in media and news with the movers and shakers in the media industry every other week.

Media tidbits

• Superb piece in Vanity Fair from Ta-Nehisi Coates: “Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause.”
• For The Independent, veteran media writer Justin Baragona with “‘He lied to us’: CBS News staffers say new owner David Ellison ‘just can’t be trusted.’”
• The Hollywood Reporter’s Tony Maglio with “Dan Rather Warns Paramount Buying Warner Bros. Discovery ‘Would Change CNN Forever.’”
• For the fourth time, President Donald Trump has delayed the deadline for TikTok to divest from its Chinese owners or face a ban in the United States. Trump told reporters, “We have a deal for TikTok,” meaning an American owner could be in place to keep the app going in the U.S. The New York Times’ Sapna Maheshwari has the latest.
• From The New York Times’ DealBook newsletter, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced and Niko Gallogly with “Could TikTok Help Bring Trump and Xi Together?”
• The Wrap’s Ross A. Lincoln with “Rolling Stone Hit With Layoffs Amid Ongoing Staff Reductions at Penske.”

Hot type

• The Washington Post’s Kyle Melnick with “Health scare leads mom to world record: Barefoot run on Lego bricks. On purpose.”
• The Atlantic’s Vann R. Newkirk II writes about the famed 1975 Thrilla in Manila heavyweight boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in “Fifty Years After History’s Most Brutal Boxing Match.”

More resources for journalists

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• Join a five-day, in-person workshop that gives new managers the skills they need to help forge successful paths to leadership in journalism, media and technology. Apply today.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here. And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast for even more.