It is the best of times and the worst of times for our First Amendment.

A letter writer’s accusation that the Maine Trust for Local News and the mass media are carrying out a censorship campaign against President Trump or anything with a conservative bias (“Where are the conservative letters?” June 17) certainly dovetails nicely with Trump’s May 1 executive order, “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media.”

But, also in plain view for the whole world to see is Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order, “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” Said order states, “Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society.”

Shutting down a source of funds simply because the output does not conform to someone’s own moral framework is blatant censorship in violation of the First Amendment. The amount of speech in circulation will be less than it otherwise would be.

Since the letter writer opened the door on censorship, and kudos to the paper for publishing the letter, I would be remiss not to point out the obvious. The upshot of these two executive orders is prima facie evidence of Trump’s insensitivity to his own oath of office requiring him to “preserve, protect and defend” the U.S. Constitution.

Lou Horwitz
St. Louis, Mo.