President Donald Trump was quick to lash out with threats against a reporter and many online called it out, MAGA’s defense became the center of their fury.
The President lashed out at ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent Johnathan Karl after he tried to get Trump to clarify Attorney General Pam Bondi’s remarks Monday when she appeared to ignore the First Amendment on “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
“What do you make of Pam Bondi saying she’s going to go after ‘hate speech?’” Karl asked Trump at a press gaggle.
“I mean a lot of your allies say hate speech is free speech,” the reporter added.
That seemed to immediately infuriate Trump, who quickly lashed out at Karl.
“She’ll probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly, it’s hate.”
“You have a lot of hate in your heart,” the President continued. “Maybe I’ll come after ABC,” he threatened again.
“ABC paid me $16 million recently for a form of hate speech, right? Your company paid me $16 million for a form of hate speech. So maybe they’ll have to go after you,” a menacing Trump said, bullying Karl.
Trump’s “smart” MAGA supporters jumped to his defense claiming his threats were anything but.
“It’s a proven fact that people with a lower IQ do not use or understand sarcasm and Trump is a master of sarcasm,” wrote Matthew Anderson.
It’s a proven fact that people with a lower IQ do not use or understand sarcasm and Trump is a master of sarcasm.
— Matthew Anderson
(@matthewanderson) September 16, 2025
“He’s being sarcastic and trolling, but they don’t need to go down this path. This is serious,” another added.
“He didn’t suggest anything. He made hypothetical statements,” said another with the handle “Fr33dom”
The saracasm spin was easy work for the critics.
“Was the $16m sarcastic? Should we expect more of a president than being the ‘master’ of the lowest form of wit? Don’t we deserve a president who takes his job seriously?” asked one in response.
“He is the master of low IQ MAGAs like you and no one and nothing else,” another added.
Yet another added, “Stop humiliating yourself. Trump was threatening the reporter.”
The criticism was endless. “It’s a proven fact that people with a lower IQ think Trump is being sarcastic when really he’s just being dumb. He’s a master at being dumb,” chimed in another.
Trump’s loyalty to Bondi came at the cost of MAGA’s pride.
Bondi told Miller during their sitdown that “there’s free speech and then there’s hate speech..”
The full context of Pam Bondi’s “hate speech” comments yesterday is insane.
Katie Miller says hatred of conservatives on college campuses led to Charlie Kirk’s death.
Bondi responds by saying antisemitism on college campuses is the real issue at hand, and what the government… https://t.co/iCYqPjgp5H pic.twitter.com/pf1mm8cwow
— SOVEREIGN BRAH
(@sovereignbrah) September 16, 2025
“We will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech, anything, and that is across the aisle,” she added.
And even though Bondi tried to clarify her remarks the following day, she still angered people on both sides of the issue.
“Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment,” Bondi claimed in a social media post.
“It’s a crime. For far too long, we’ve watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence,” she claimed. “That era is over.”
“Free speech protects ideas, debate, even dissent but it does NOT and will NEVER protect violence. It is clear this violent rhetoric is designed to silence others from voicing conservative ideals,” she insisted.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor jumped into the mix with her own take. “Every time I listen to a lawyer-trained representative saying we should criminalize free speech in some way, I think to myself, that law school failed,” Sotomayor said while speaking on a panel Tuesday morning at New York Law School, according to Politico.
