‘Did you not get the memo?’: JD Vance slammed for hypocritically preaching freedom of speech
Vice President JD Vance and journalist Mehdi Hasan had a heated exchange over at X. For the Vice President of the United States, barring journalists from accessing the White House press briefing room isn’t a slight against freedom of speech.
Hasan tagged Vance over an Axios article that bent the knee to Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. This is an approach that diverges from the Associated Press (AP). Instead of using Trump’s chosen name, the AP decided to stick with the gulf’s international name: the Gulf of Mexico. Despite their neutrality, the White House has been repeatedly barring reporters from the AP over their non-compliance. Hasan wrote on X, “Hey @JDVance, I know you’re busy lecturing the Europeans on free speech, but have you seen this?”
Instead of responding with civility, Vance felt the need to call Hasan a “dummy” in his reply. “Yes, dummy. I think there’s a difference between not giving a reporter a seat in the WH press briefing room and jailing people for dissenting views.” The Vice President added that the latter is a threat to free speech. Meanwhile, denying access to reporters from the White House press briefing room is not.
Hasan lividly shot back and pointed out Vance’s odd decision to call him names. He then replied, “Did you not get the memo? Do you agree with Mr. Musk on locking up US TV journos?” While that’s a different issue altogether, Hasan pointed to a tweet from Elon Musk. The post Musk made accuses 60 Minutes by CBS News of engaging in “deliberate deception” and election interference. Musk ended the tweet by saying that the journalists “deserve a long prison sentence.”
An undignified punch
Many replying under Vance’s tweet were largely disgusted by his choice of words. One X user wrote in reaction, “He calls Mehdi “dummy” and then proves he has no — clue what he’s talking about.” Another X user believes that the AP was being punished by the White House for using the Gulf of Mexico instead of its much-insisted Gulf of America.
Meanwhile, Trump-Vance supporters either agreed with the Vice President or reiterated that the AP’s freedom to report wasn’t being attacked. As one of them puts it, “I’m not allowed in the Oval Office nor Air Force One. But I still have free speech.” To break it down, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the AP of peddling a lie. The AP didn’t lie; they just chose to use the international naming convention of the Gulf of Mexico. This lack of compliance was immediately dictated upon by the administration as a lie. The message behind this decision is clear. Should the AP refuse to conform to the White House’s terminology, information will be withheld from them indefinitely.
That decision by the White House undoubtedly limits the AP’s ability to perform its duty as a news outlet. Those defending this decision from the White House perceive reporting from the White House as a privilege. With that line of thinking, there’s a glaring concession that the White House has the right to retaliate against journalists who don’t use their forced terminology. While this doesn’t effectively kill freedom of speech, the White House’s move allows for its erosion.
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