Twitter Permanently Bans President Trump, Citing Violation of Rules

In a decisive move on Friday evening, Twitter announced the permanent suspension of President Trump from its platform, citing concerns over the potential for further incitement of violence. The company stated, “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them, we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”

The decision followed two tweets by Trump on Friday afternoon, which ultimately became his last on the platform. Twitter asserted that these tweets violated the company’s policy against glorification of violence, highlighting the broader events in the country and the potential mobilization of the President’s statements to incite violence.

One of the tweets addressed Trump’s supporters, stating, “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future.” The second tweet indicated Trump’s decision not to attend Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Twitter argued that the tweet about the inauguration could be interpreted as a further statement that the election was not legitimate, and it suggested the potential for violence by stating that the event would be a “safe” target due to Trump’s absence.

The ban specifically targets the @realDonaldTrump account, with Twitter emphasizing its commitment to enforcing its policy against ban evasions to prevent Trump from circumventing the suspension. The company clarified that for government accounts like @POTUS and @WhiteHouse, it would not suspend them but would limit their use and transition them to the new administration.

In response to the ban, Trump attempted to test Twitter’s policy by posting from the @POTUS account. The tweets were swiftly removed, and Twitter affirmed that Trump’s campaign account, @TeamTrump, has also been permanently banned.

Twitter’s decision drew criticism from the Trump campaign’s social media director, Mike Hahn, who argued that they merely copied and pasted a White House pool report. However, Twitter maintained a distinction between reporting on the President and attempting to use an account to bypass the ban.

Civil rights leaders, long critical of tech platforms for spreading hate speech, applauded Twitter’s decision. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, called it an “excellent step,” while Eric Naing of Muslim Advocates commended Twitter for showing real leadership.