Trump's Anti-First Amendment Instincts on Display from the Outset

President Donald Trump wasted no time in making clear his antipathy to the spirit--if not the letter--of the First Amendment would carry forward into the Oval Office.  The new White House Press Secretary, Sean Spcier, attacked the press for accurately reporting the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration, which, as the press noted, was significantly lower than the crowd at President Obama's second inaugural.  This moment crystalized two key fears about a Trump administration.  First, it showed Trump's flagrant disregard for facts (press accounts were supported by evidence, including DC Metro ridership and aerial photographs).  Second, it showed Trump's disdain for the press-- or, more accurately-- for a press that does not laud and adore him.  There is no question that Trump's impulses are authoritarian.  The only question is whether, and to what extent, he will act on these impulses to chill and curtail First Amendment freedoms in America.