“Would it be constitutional for a gag order to prevent a presidential candidate from speaking his mind in a presidential debate?”
————-
Presidential candidates have no special Constitutional rights. This gag order, now that the trial is over and the verdict rendered, is an unconstitutional restriction on Trump’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech and, possibly, his right to petition for redress of grievances - just like it would be for any of us. The jury is done, there’s no one to influence regarding the sentencing except the judge. Trump should immediately make an emergency appeal on civil rights grounds to the highest level in NYS, and if that isn’t successful, then to the federal courts.
I wonder why he hasn't?