'This isn’t a joke to us': Far-right evangelicals aim to enlist Trump in 'censorship regime'

15 May 2024

One of the pet projects of the Christian right has been total prohibition of online pornography. And evangelicals are hoping to get former President Donald Trump on board despite his record of cavorting with sex workers and Playboy models.

CNN recently reported that the right wing's crusade against online pornography is picking up steam, with multiple Republican-led states like Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia already restricting access to PornHub and its sister sites. If Trump wins a second term in November, evangelical activists are hoping he'll join their cause in banning online pornography nationwide. Kevin Roberts — who leads the influential far-right Heritage Foundation behind the controversial Project 2025 blueprint — told CNN he believes Trump would be a major asset to the anti-pornography movement.

“We understand our lord works with imperfect instruments, including us,” Roberts said. “While on the surface it seems like a contradiction, on the whole, it may make him a more powerful messenger if he embraces it.”

Project 2025 has called for an outright ban on pornography. Its "Mandate for Leadership," which is a 900-plus page blueprint for the next Republican administration, mentions pornography on page 1 and for the imprisonment of its producers and purveyors on page 5. Some Republican states have started implementing tougher age verification laws requiring viewers of online pornography to show government ID proving they're 18 years old.

“We see pornography as undermining the public good, not just for children but all adults,” Roberts said. “We think that’s in the purview of Congress.”

However, First Amendment advocates argue that the banning of online pornography could easily create a slippery slope leading to bans on other forms of expression. Mike Stabile of the Free Speech Coalition told CNN that "sex is the canary in the coal mine of free speech."

"It may sound good to create age-verification laws, but what these people are really trying to do is create a larger censorship regime so that you have to show who you are to access sensitive content," Stabile said.

Trump campaign senior advisor Chris LaCivita has said that any policy proposals not directly from Trump are not sanctioned by the campaign. But Roberts said that while he can't presume to know Trump's will, he hopes that "conversations on this being a priority" will still take place should he win this fall.

Additionally, Stabile said that Project 2025's proposals should be seen as distinct possibilities, The initiative is led by former Trump administration official Paul Dans, who has said he expects to have an official role in the Trump White House if he wins in November. And Project 2025 has already hired John McEntee — Trump's former director of the Presidential Personnel Office — as a senior advisor.

“We’re taking it deathly seriously,” Stabile said. “Not just for us, but for all kinds of communities around sex or gender. This isn’t a joke to us. This isn’t theoretical.”

Click here to read CNN's full report.

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