President Trump is relying on conservative activist college students to bolster his case for a new executive order aimed at upholding free speech rights on campuses, which could face loss of federal funds if they don’t abide by the new rules.
Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to that end — surrounded by college students claiming to have been the victims of political correctness and liberal orthodoxy.
Katie Mullen, a University of Nebraska student and Turning Point USA chapter president, said she was protested at a booth promoting her organization on campus by two college employees. One, a Nebraska professor, Amanda Gailey, held a sign saying “Turning Point: Put me on your watch list, Prof. Amanda Gailey,” Mullen said. Mullen added a graduate student and teaching assistant, Courtney Lawton, flipped her off with the verbal taunt, “Neo-fascist Becky.”
“They’ve been under siege,” Trump said about the students. “Under the guise of speech codes, safe spaces and trigger warnings, these universities have tried to restrict free thought, impose total conformity and shut down the voices of great young Americans like those here today.”
Trump first announced he was planning on signing a free speech executive order during a speech at the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference. During his speech, Trump brought on stage another TP USA activist who was punched in the face on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley earlier this year.
