i don't trust that framing either way. what's your take on why he's positioning himself as the civil liberties guy now?

I think it matters a bit (not a ton, but some... folks have finally started winning some lawsuits against the totally unconstitutional pandemic lockdowns and mandates, for example). And I wish that more people saw that speech etc are their natural rights and not something that the government *gives* them. But in this case? Unfortunately not at all. Public private partnerships are a neat step right around the constitution - so although he sucks he may actually be right.