Not lawyer. But pretty sure the hate speech exception , if there is one, is only if it incites a crime.
Perfectly legal to spout off all the ignorant bullshit you want as long as you don’t incite people to do crimes.
But you are right. The bar for a person like the president who is a public figure, winning a libel or slander case is typically pretty high, especially against the press.
But in this timeline I don’t know.
Yes you are exactly right. On all counts.