“I’m a very strong person for free speech,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, before complaining that his media coverage was persistently unfair. White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Trump’s team, which is preparing an executive order on political violence in the wake of Kirk’s death, supported free speech unequivocally. WORRIES THAT FREE SPEECH UNDER ATTACKFirst Amendment experts, who said the Constitution guarantees the ability of people to say hateful things, expressed worry that free speech rights are in jeopardy. Carlson, a Trump confidant, warned against using Kirk’s death to justify curtailing what his supporters might consider hate speech. “You hope that a year from now the turmoil we’re seeing in the aftermath of his murder won’t be leveraged to bring hate speech laws to this country,” Carlson said.