Common mistake. He doesn't mean "free speech" when he says "free speech" and neither do those defending him. There are like three people who genuinely believe in free speech above all else, everyone else is fine with a subset of speech being censored.

Note that e.g. reinstating far-right accounts banned for hate speech is "free speech" but banning leftist or progressive accounts doesn't contradict that. Only one side of the political divide loves to portray itself as "centrist" to hide its actual beliefs and values.