Trump Administration's Crackdown on Expression Reminiscent of McCarthy Era

Matthew Mangino
Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:39:01 -0800
Opinion

McCarthyism hearkens back to a dark time in American history. The term has entered political nomenclature to describe government activity that suppresses unfavorable political or social views. The American Heritage Dictionary defines McCarthyism as "The use of methods of investigation and accusation regarded as unfair, to suppress opposition."

Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy was a little-known junior senator from Wisconsin until February 1950, when he claimed, in a speech given in Wheeling, W.Va., that he possessed a list of 205 card-carrying Communists employed by the U.S. Department of State.

The speech launched Sen. McCarthy into the national spotlight. Although the blacklisting of Hollywood luminaries is often thought of as a McCarthy-era witch hunt, the sinister work of the House Un-American Activities Committee predated him.
Updated: Tue Nov 18, 2025

McCarthyism hearkens back to a dark time in American history. The term has entered political nomenclature to describe government activity that suppresses unfavorable political or social views. The American Heritage Dictionary defines McCarthyism as "The use of methods of investigation and accusation regarded as unfair, to suppress opposition."

Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy was a little-known junior senator from Wisconsin until February 1950, when he claimed, in a speech given in Wheeling, W.Va., that he possessed a list of 205 card-carrying Communists employed by the U.S. Department of State.

The speech launched Sen. McCarthy into the national spotlight. Although the blacklisting of Hollywood luminaries is often thought of as a McCarthy-era witch hunt, the sinister work of the House Un-American Activities Committee predated him.

However, McCarthy's subsequent anti-communist crusade heavily contributed to the climate of fear and blacklisting that followed, and impacted many people in Hollywood, academia, business and the military.

As chairman of the Senate Permanent Investigation Subcommittee, Sen. McCarthy conducted hearings on communist subversion in America and investigated alleged communist infiltration of the Armed Forces.

Some have pointed to — with growing concern — similarities between McCarthy and the Trump administration. Ruth Conniff of the Wisconsin Examiner interviewed David Maraniss, a Pulitzer Prize winner and author of "A Good American Family: The Red Scare and My Father," a book about his father's journey after being blacklisted during the McCarthy era.

Maraniss told Conniff, "There are several obvious haunting similarities," between McCarthy and President Donald Trump, "the demonization of others, the calling of all opponents Marxist or communists or enemies of the state, the gross manipulation of truth, the use of fear to stifle dissent and pressure to silence the media or get the press to go along."

Maraniss ominously pointed out, "McCarthy was only a senator, and now we're dealing with the president, with full control of the levers of power which McCarthy did not have, ranging from the Justice Department to the military."

During the first year of Trump's second term, the federal government has aggressively cracked down on political expression reminiscent of some of the most troubling periods in America's history.

The administration has asked for — and been provided with — the prosecution of the president's political opponents. They have fired government employees for taking positions perceived as disloyal to Trump. They have even gone after unfriendly law firms, withdrawing security clearances and government contracts.

The Department of "Defense" is now the Department of "War." Nearly all national news organizations are banned from the Pentagon. The president pushed for blocking AP reporters from the White House press pool because the wire service refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."

Trump pushed to withhold funding for colleges and universities, coaxing large payments to reinstate funding. He has investigated media companies, filing lawsuits and demanding huge settlements by implying industry mergers may be in jeopardy.

Is there a tipping point when it comes to the authoritarian machination of the Trump administration? For all the unease, discomfort and fear caused by McCarthy, his reign of fear lasted all of four years.

For Sen. McCarthy, public sentiment turned against him following his reckless attacks on the U.S. Army in the summer of 1954. The Army had retained a noted attorney, Joseph Welch, who challenged McCarthy on live television.

In an exchange that became historic, McCarthy brought up the fact that a young lawyer in Welch's office had once belonged to an organization suspected of being a communist front group. Welch was angered by McCarthy's blatant attack on his young associate. He responded with vigor and emotion, pointedly asking McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

Within six months, McCarthy was censured by the U.S. Senate. In less than three years, he died a disgraced and broken man.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner's Toll, 2010 was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino