Trump to require colleges to support free speech if they want federal funds

President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that he will sign an executive order requiring colleges and universities to support free speech in order to receive federal funding.

"Today I'm proud to announce that I will be personally signing an executive order requiring colleges and universities to support free speech if they want federal research dollars," Trump said while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Washington, D.C.

The president made the announcement moments after inviting Leadership Institute Field Representative Hayden Williams on stage. Williams, an employee of Campus Reform's parent organization, was punched in the face on February 19 at the University of California-Berkeley while helping a conservative campus group recruit new members.

[RELATED: Trump: Hayden Williams 'took a hard punch in the face for all of us' (VIDEO)]

"If they want our dollars, and we give it to them by the billions, they've got to allow people like Hayden and many other young people and old people to speak. And if they don't it will be very costly."

Campus Reform asked the White House on Sunday when the president plans to sign the executive order and when the text of the order will be publicly available. A White House official referred Campus Reform to the president's comments, adding, "we don’t have any further announcements at this time."









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