Writing from London

Writing from London

Share this post

Writing from London
Writing from London
Trump will use antisemitsm as an excuse to attack basic freedoms

Trump will use antisemitsm as an excuse to attack basic freedoms

Nick Cohen's avatar
Nick Cohen
Dec 19, 2024
∙ Paid
37

Share this post

Writing from London
Writing from London
Trump will use antisemitsm as an excuse to attack basic freedoms
12
4
Share

The return of Donald Trump will ask a hard question of the right: Do you mean it when you say that you believe in freedom of speech? Or are you all for censorship when the bully boys come from your side?

Trump will establish a right-wing version of cancel culture next year. He will use the power of the American presidency to enforce a new orthodoxy and punish non-believers.

Writing from London is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

With a combination of cynicism and sincere belief, supporters of the radical right have inflated the threat of the “woke mind virus” (to use Elon Musk’s words). So terrible is it in their imaginations, dictatorial methods must be used to crush it. For all the cries about freedom of speech, they merely want to meet the authoritarianism of the left with an authoritarianism of the right.

Trump and his allies plan to exploit the racism that Jews have received from leftists as an excuse for an attack on liberal academia. As I said when the Jewish Chronicle asked me to look at it, American Jews must watch their backs – and so must everyone else.


Right-wing Jews, and indeed conservatives everywhere, are about to be tested. They have, quite rightly, raged against the illiberalism of woke culture and its denial of freedom of speech.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Writing from London to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Nick Cohen
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share