Watch: Trump is attacking free speech with this call to silence NBC

What happened?

President Donald Trump tweeted a furious response to a recent NBC News report. “Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked,” he said Wednesday. “Not fair to public!”

NBC cited White House officials in a report about a national security meeting that happened over the summer. Trump wanted a tenfold increase in U.S. nuclear weapons after seeing a chart showing a reduction since the 1960s, according to the report.

Can Trump “challenge” NBC?

National networks aren’t licensed, so there is no “license” to be “revoked” in any case.

Does he know about the First Amendment?

Luckily, we Americans have a little thing called the Bill of Rights. These foundational rights include free speech and freedom of the press.

Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska reminded Trump about his commitment to protect and defend that right:

Mr. President:

Are you recanting of the Oath you took on Jan. 20 to preserve, protect, and defend the 1st Amendment? pic.twitter.com/XLB7QXM3bQ

— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) October 12, 2017

Glenn’s take:

The First Amendment is essential to our freedom, and no president has the right to infringe on it. Whether it’s a Democrat president trying to stop talk radio or a Republican president who wants to shut down negative coverage, conservatives should be against anything that lets the government censor speech.

“We wouldn’t want the government to have to license everybody so they can speak their mind,” Glenn said.

To see more from Glenn, visit his channel on TheBlaze and listen live to “The Glenn Beck Radio Program” with Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere weekdays 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET on TheBlaze Radio Network.