Former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is very concerned that Donald Trump’s indictment is “injust” and like Orwell’s 1984 is making people “afraid of their thoughts.”
Sarah Palin says former President Donald Trump’s D.C. indictment is “injust” and making people “afraid of their thoughts.”
Watch:
Sarah Palin says former President Donald Trump’s D.C. indictment is “injust” and making people “afraid of their thoughts”:
“They [are attempting] to jail him for expressing his opinion!” pic.twitter.com/bL3pQOOyrJ
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) August 3, 2023
Ms. Palin said, “It’s surreal what’s going on. It’s injust. My other word for this though is Orwellian.”
The Republican compared it to Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece of 1984, “Remember, the book 1984. We saw freedom of speech in that book once it was thwarted, people began then to be afraid of their thoughts, of thinking something, because they were afraid to articulate it or they were going to be busted by the government.”
We can probably understand why Sarah Palin is afraid of her own thoughts, but one is not forced into articulating their thoughts aloud unless one chooses to do so. If one does choose to do so, one is accountable for those words, especially if one is in public office.
But also, 1984 warned about a government run a lot like Trump tried to run the U.S., a government that had the power to determine what is real, what comprises history and what the facts are. Right now in the U.S., Republican governors are trying to seize control of history. 1984 warns about the power of Big Brother to control information. Orwell repeatedly warned about the dangers of propaganda.
“That is what is happening to Donald Trump,” Palin continued. “He expressed his opinions on the elections. A whole lot of Americans expressed their opinions on the elections. Democrats for years have denied election results.”
This is not actually true. The indictment actually addressed Trump’s right to freedom of speech. He’s being indicted for his actions, not his thoughts.
“And now, what has that resulted in? The head honcho, the attempt to jail him for expressing his opinion. That is Orwellian, and it leads a slippery slope and into much more than controlling speech.”
This talking point, however mangled, about Trump’s “free speech” being prosecuted originated from Trump’s lawyer John Lauro announcing on Fox News that Trump was being indicted for “what he believed in and the policies and the political speech that he carried out as president.”
Vox has an excellent breakdown of exactly why trying to overturn an election and disenfranchise voters is not free speech:
“One is that Smith repeatedly accuses Trump of pressuring other government officials to commit criminal acts of election fraud, and it is well established that soliciting another individual to commit a crime is not protected by the First Amendment. As the Supreme Court held in United States v. Williams (2008), “offers to engage in illegal transactions are categorically excluded from First Amendment protection.”
But also, “The First Amendment does not protect the kind of lies Trump is accused of telling. Additionally, the First Amendment provides much weaker protections for people who knowingly make false statements than it does for other speakers.”
Then there’s the issue of the RIGHT to vote and have it counted, which is essential in a democracy.
It’s absurd to argue that Trump’s free speech is being prosecuted, but then it doesn’t take much to convince his supporters that he is God almighty and can do no wrong. They’ll even tell reporters as much.
It’s kind of perfect that Palin’s comments on Trump’s indictment include a vintage Palinism like “injust.”
Before Trump brought us “covfefe”, “big-league” as an adverb (also known as “bigly”), and “Nambia” two times at an event with African leaders, Sarah Palin was elevating American political discourse with words like ‘refudiate’ and who can forget when she tweeted ‘cackle of rads’ on the anniversary of women’s suffrage.
Palin defended herself by comparing herself to William Shakespeare, “‘Refudiate,’ ‘misunderestimate,’ ‘wee-wee’d up.’ English is a living language. Shakespeare liked to coin new words too. Got to celebrate it!”
Sarah Palin ushered in Trumpism before Donald Trump did. She was the OG of Pugnacious, Willful Ignorance Meets Autocratic Entitlement. The half-term governor believed God had chosen her to be President, for example, and so she ignored her top-of-the-ticket running mate Senator John McCain’s instructions not to give a concession speech and rushed the stage. She long believed she had been chosen by God to be president, and no one was going to keep her down.
Palin then became the Queen of the Tea Party, riding a wave of “whitelash” racist rage at President Obama’s White House win into a high profile Fox job and tons of media attention. But then Palin made the mistake of crying it was “Blood Libel” to hold her even somewhat accountable for the gun sights she put over Democrat Rep. Gabby Giffords’ district, after Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting outside in a parking lot.
Ms. Palin was unable to reclaim her former glory and has since lost two elections for a House seat in Alaska, where they know her best.
Sarah Palin walked so Donald Trump could run. And isn’t that just so injust.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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