Top Republicans don't seem to share President-elect Donald Trump's opinion that flag burning should be a punishable offense. After Trump tweeted Tuesday that burning the American flag, an act constitutionally protected as free speech, should result in jail time or a "loss of citizenship," both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) mildly — yet clearly — expressed their disagreement with the suggestion.
McConnell said that people who burn the flag "pose little harm to our country. But tinkering with our First Amendment might." McCarthy, during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe, said: "We respect our First Amendment."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
July 12 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include generational ennui, tariffs on Canada, and a conspiracy rabbit hole
-
5 unusually elusive cartoons about the Epstein filesCartoons Artists take on Pam Bondi's vanishing desk, the Mar-a-Lago bathrooms, and more
-
Lemon and courgette carbonara recipeThe Week Recommends Zingy and fresh, this pasta is a summer treat
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffsSpeed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Mahmoud Khalil files $20M claim over ICE detentionSpeed Read This is the 'first damages complaint' brought by an individual targeted by the Trump's administration's 'crackdown' on Gaza war protesters
-
Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffsSpeed Read He accused Brazil's current president of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro
-
AI scammer fakes Rubio messages to top officialsSpeed Read The unknown individual mimicked Rubio in voice and text messages sent to multiple government officials
-
SCOTUS greenlights Trump's federal firingsspeed read The Trump administration can conduct mass federal firings without Congress' permission, the Supreme Court ruled
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partnersSpeed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US borderSpeed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
