The First Amendment and landmark Supreme Court rulings make the U.S. exceptional on the concern of freedom of speech. Our preference of speakers over subjects in defamation laws and tolerance of the most controversial protests emphasize that the national interest is best served by maximal speech. Until recently, Republicans were broadly supportive of this understanding. They rightly pointed out the Left’s growing tendency to restrict or penalize speech seen as contravening left-wing orthodoxy on issues such as identity politics.

No longer, it seems. In recent days, we’ve seen many Republican presidential hopefuls come out against the maximalist view of free speech.