William Tong thought a puppy dog would be innocuous.
In a world filled with harsh rhetoric and hate speech online, the Connecticut state attorney general recently posted a simple video of himself with a 5-month-old puppy his family was taking care of.
The video showed the black lab mix playing with the Tong family dog in the snow, what Tong thought would represent a break from the serious issues that he posts on a daily basis.
But Tong was stunned by the online comments with “many asking whether I was going to eat the dog or whether the dog was on the menu.”
The 34-second video focused only on the two dogs in a message that was devoid of politics.
“Then we get this avalanche of hate,” Tong said. “Some of it’s real people in Connecticut. Some of it is real people from other parts of the country. But if they feel empowered, and that they have license to hurt somebody — that’s a scary place to be.”
The vitriol reminded Tong of Donald Trump’s comments in 2024 about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, in which the president said during a nationally televised debate that the immigrants had been eating dogs and cats.
Marking the one-year anniversary of Trump’s second term in office, Tong called Wednesday for toning down the rhetoric online as Americans have consistently expressed hate through social media. That extends, he said, to the sharp disagreements over the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis by a federal agent as she was driving in her car during a protest.
“One year later, this is the United States of America,” Tong said. “The president has turned us against each other. That is his essential skill. He is so good at it.”
Concerning the broader debate about free speech, Tong acknowledged there is often a fine line where harsh and bombastic comments are protected by the U.S. Constitution.
“People have a First Amendment right to speak — yes,” Tong said. “Threatening and intimidating people and hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment.”
Going forward, Tong said that he will join with other Democratic attorneys general to continue the battle that has been ongoing throughout the first year of Trump’s second term as numerous lawsuits have been filed to block actions by Trump.
“We have to fight,” Tong said. “We cannot bow down. We cannot bend the knee. No more capitulation.”
CT attorney general William Tong has pushed back hard against President Donald Trump in the first year of his second term. Here, Tong stands with Gov. Ned Lamont and most of the state’s Democratic leadership at the state Capitol last year regarding Trump’s plan to halt federal grants and loans. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
Republican view
But House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford said that Tong was among the Democrats who have contributed to the harsh level of discourse by consistently criticizing Trump.
“I share the attorney general’s concern about dehumanizing language in politics and on social media,” Candelora said Wednesday. “But a 20-minute speech attacking President Trump and lecturing Republicans isn’t a serious effort to bring people together — it’s more of the same. We can all do better. But until the attorney general and Democrats acknowledge their own role in poisoning our political discourse — stoking the flames since day one of Donald Trump’s first presidency — these calls for unity will ring hollow.”
Candelora added, “After a year of speeches about ‘protecting democracy,’ I trust the attorney general understands that any solution must not infringe on citizens’ First Amendment rights.”
House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford says Democrats must also accept blame for the harsh tone of political discourse online. He speaks here at the State Capitol in Hartford.
Tong predicted that Trump will not back off, based on his actions on issues that include his repeated opposition to gigantic windmills off the Rhode Island and Connecticut coastlines that will eventually generate electricity when completed. Trump stopped the project twice, but the construction was restarted after two different court rulings.
“Revolution Wind proves this,” Tong said. “He tried to kill the project. … Then he went back again and tried to kill the project again.”
President Donald Trump has been fighting against windmills across the country, including off the coast of Connecticut. Here, parts of wind turbines sit at the State Pier in New London in late August 2025 before a news conference held in response to the Trump administration’s order to halt construction on the Revolution Wind project. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant/Hartford Courant)
Ever since Trump’s second term started, Tong immediately became involved in civil lawsuits with his fellow attorneys general across the country that he said provided a direct check and balance against the Republican administration. Tong filmed a video that outlined the results so far, and he repeatedly emphasized that the attorneys had provided a “check” against Trump. “He tried to ban birthright citizenship, so we sued him,” Tong says in the brief video. “We got a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. Check. He tried to ban all federal funding. We sued him. We got a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. Check. And then of course, he let Elon Musk and his army of hackers and wannabee storm troopers tear up the federal government. We sued him. We got a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. Check.”
The clashes prompted Tong to work seven days a week in battling executive orders and federal spending freezes by Trump in cases both locally and nationally. His schedule has involved traveling to federal appeals courts in New York City and Boston on lawsuits with fellow Democratic attorneys general.
Saying he would provide details later, Tong said he will propose a bill similar to last year’s version that would place restrictions on social media for those under 18. The bill was passed by 121-26 on a bipartisan basis by the state House of Representatives, but did not receive a final vote in the Senate. The measure was known as House Bill 6857 – An Act Concerning the Attorney General’s Recommendations Regarding Social Media and Minors.
“We have to fight the misinformation and disinformation and hate online,” Tong said.
Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com
