Published January 8, 2021 by The Root
Twitter announced Friday evening that it would permanently ban the account of President Donald Trump after continuing to use the platform to incite violence following the riot at the Capitol on Wednesday.
The company released a blog post explaining what led to this course of action. They cited two tweets the president published on Friday as being responsible for triggering the ban.
“On January 8, 2021, President Donald J. Trump tweeted: ‘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. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!’” the post read. “Shortly thereafter, the President tweeted: ‘To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.’”
The post said the events on Wednesday played a direct role in its decision to permanently ban the president’s account. “Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence,” the post read.
The company went on to say the two tweets in question were a violation of its Glorification of Violence Policy, which is meant to prevent the platform from being used to incite others to commit violence. The post added that they found the two tweets were “highly likely” to encourage others “to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
This determination is based on a number of factors, including:
- President Trump’s statement that he will not be attending the Inauguration is being received by a number of his supporters as further confirmation that the election was not legitimate and is seen as him disavowing his previous claim made via two Tweets (1, 2) by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, that there would be an “orderly transition” on January 20th.
- The second Tweet may also serve as encouragement to those potentially considering violent acts that the Inauguration would be a “safe” target, as he will not be attending.
- The use of the words “American Patriots” to describe some of his supporters is also being interpreted as support for those committing violent acts at the US Capitol.
- The mention of his supporters having a “GIANT VOICE long into the future” and that “They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” is being interpreted as further indication that President Trump does not plan to facilitate an “orderly transition” and instead that he plans to continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election.
- Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.
So, it only took four years, a failed coup and multiple people dying but President Donald Trump is finally off Twitter for good for now.
