Debate:Should Trump Outlaw Holocaust Denial in the United States?

As Sean Hannity put it, "Trump is the most pro-Jewish President ever." Trump deported the last ex-Nazi in the U.S. in 2018. He moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and has an area in the Golan Heights named after him, "Trump Heights." He has a beautiful relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has been referred to as, "the most pro-Israel President since Harry Truman. The Southern Poverty Law Center published an article in November 2018 with the title, "Are White Nationalists Turning on Trump?" with quotes critical of Trump from Richard Spencer, the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter, and even Andrew Anglin. Within the first 100 days of his presidency, an anti-Trump social group was formed on the white supremacist website Stormfront called "Trump the Zionist." It's description read: "Corporations first, jobs last. We will make the dollar weak again with yuge debt. China is not a currency manipulator and the European Union is not obsolete! Who's gonna pay for the wall? Nobody!" And by June 2019, racial identitarian James Allsup made a 20-minute speech at a conference for the white nationalist group American Renaissance, in which he essentially began by stating, "My speech may be entitled "Beyond Trump," but as I was writing it, I realized I didn't have too much to say about the President....After all, this is American Renaissance, not Israeli Renaissance," to cheers from the crowd.

We know that Trump has condemned Holocaust denial in hostile dictatorships such as Venezuela and Iran. And arguably, his policies have been the most beneficial for Jewish-Americans, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I don't think it's a question of "Would Trump do it?" I think that answer, from Donald John Trump, would be an unequivocal "Yes!" He is an unabashed Zionist.

I support free speech one hundred percent. But I think Holocaust denial is where I draw the line. It's already illegal in the Jewish State, and in Canada, where I live, and in several European countries. We all remember being horrified, mortified, and disgusted by the Islamic Republic of Iran's "International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust" in 2006. Holocaust denial is evil. And this encyclopedia knows it. Just read the article on the matter.

I would say Yes, Trump should absolutely outlaw this disgusting, heinous, affront to humanity. But I want to know what others think, so please...debate. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by BernieandTrumpFan (talk)

I usually don't comment on "debate" pages, but I strongly oppose any such ban -- it's a constitutional issue. The First Amendment protects free speech, even hate speech and fringe speech. If those types of speech were banned, it would nullify the entire speech portion of the amendment (the reason we have the amendment is to protect unpopular speech that would otherwise be silenced). Holocaust denial is terrible and false, but that doesn't justify banning it (leftists have the mindset where if they think something's good, they want to make it mandatory, and if it's bad in their opinion, they want to ban it outright). Constitutionally and practically, Trump can't and shouldn't outlaw this form of thought/speech, no matter how perverse. --1990'sguy (talk) 22:22, 28 August 2019 (EDT)

Also, Europe is NOT a model for us, especially regarding free speech. These are the same countries that have banned criticism of Islam, like where Marine Le Pen got into serious legal trouble just for posting a picture of an ISIS member about to behead someone, with Le Pen also criticizing extreme-radical Islam. Europe doesn't have the same conception of unalienable rights, so those countries have many, many laws regulating speech, religion, and self-defense which would instantly be declared unconstitutional in the U.S. --1990'sguy (talk) 22:43, 28 August 2019 (EDT)

OK Europe, maybe even Canada, but what about Israel? Conservatives and Zionists are always ranting and raving about what a great Western democracy it is, and I agree with that assessment! But it outlawed Holocaust denial. And sure, you might say, "Well, it's the Jewish State, of course Holocaust denial is illegal." But if it's such a great Western democracy that respects freedom of speech, why would it outlaw Holocaust denial? My only idea would be that it crosses some sort of line for them. –––BernieandTrumpFan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by BernieandTrumpFan (talk)

That's the thing -- Israel is just like the European countries and Canada in that it doesn't fully recognize free speech rights to the extent that the U.S. does. This is what makes the U.S. unique from every other country in the world, including conservative countries like Hungary and Poland. The other countries (Hungary, Poland, Israel, and others) may be culturally and politically conservative, but they're less individualistic and do not have the concepts of natural law and unalienable rights built into their systems. I think it's OK that they don't (I like Israel, Hungary, and Poland, and I respect their differences), but we need to recognize those differences. America -- unlike those countries -- recognizes a fundamental right to free speech, grounded in natural law, even when it's "hate speech", and that's why we shouldn't have a law banning a certain form of speech, including one that's extremely perverse. --1990'sguy (talk) 08:05, 12 September 2019 (EDT)