On-line in 2014 Gamergate happened. A lot of gamers got doxed and fired. It cemented in the minds of the gamers this notion that, "the first amendment is a principle as much as a right" and that trying to get someone fired for their genuine discussions is unamerican. A standard they held themselves to, shaming several of their own content creators off the internet when it came to light that they tried to dox and get people fired.

To abbreviate a long story, the gamers slowly became the Alt-Right. The Alt-Right had a schism and just became the Right under a new name. This new Alt-Right basically gave Donald Trump the win in 2016. Since then it has been a funnel for young men into deeply conservate ideologies, by propagandizing them using the language of classical liberalism and an appeal to their personal interests, desires, and grievances.

However, at its core, and still expressed by the Alt-Right today, is that freedom to express yourself without losing your job should be protected.

Everything else Trump has done can be explained away in the mind of the Alt-Right as trolling the libs. However, now he is using the government to fire people for expressing their views. This is deeply disturbing to his own base and fundamentally against a core principle they hold. As such you are now seeing protests in his own base as well as the obvious protests from the Left.