Nancy Pelosi has warned the First Amendment is being crushed by Donald Trump and his administration.
The former Speaker of the House spoke to journalists at an annual dinner for reporters covering Congress and urged resilience in the face of trying times under the Trump administration. Pelosi said, "Let’s make no mistake: we are living in a time when the first amendment is under siege here at home.
"Facts are challenged, truth is distorted, and the press is treated by those in power as an enemy, fake news, rather than vital partner." The Guardian reported that Pelosi had also made comment on the intimidation tactics used against members of the press, and also noted the layoffs affecting The Washington Post.
She said, "But amid that political intimidation, we must also reckon with an ongoing and accompanying threat. Just today, we saw painful layoffs at the Washington Post – part of a broader reprehensible pattern in which corporate decisions are hollowing out newsrooms across the country.
"A free press cannot fulfill its mission if it is starved of the resources it needs to survive. And when newsrooms are weakened, our republic is weakened with them. Because democracy does die in darkness."
Pelosi did not let up in her criticism of the president, either, warning that he was one of the greater threats present in modern day America.
The former speaker added, "America is in a crisis of conscience. We have a president who has crowned himself King, a Congress which has abolished itself, and a supreme court that has gone rogue.
"Our first amendment – a free and independent press – the fourth estate – is essential to the survival of our Republic." Pelosi confirmed her retirement from Congress late last year, with the 85-year-old political veteran stepping down in the 2026 midterms.
“I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know I will not be seeking re-election to Congress,” she stated. “With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative as we go forward.”
