Twitter Permanently Suspends Trump’s Account

Following+his+tweets+concerning+the+insurrection+at+the+Capitol%2C+Twitter+banned+Trump+from+Twitter.+

Graphic/Marissa Xu

Following his tweets concerning the insurrection at the Capitol, Twitter banned Trump from Twitter.

Samantha Dunlap, Staff Writer

Twitter made the move to permanently banned President Donald Trump’s account following the tweets he made concerning insurrection aimed at the Capitol last week, on grounds of him inciting violence.

“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,” tweeted President Donald Trump on Jan. 8, 2021. “They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape, or form!!!”

Civilians and politicians alike criticized Trump’s response to the insurrection. They urged the president to condemn it, and were let down when he responded in a way that felt encouraging. Twitter was not the only company to take action against Trump–Facebook banned him as well.

“It’s fair because he became a threat to our nation,” senior Meg Felsmann said, explaining why she felt the social media bans were reasonable.

Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, defended the suspension of Trump’s account on a thread of tweets.

“I believe this was the right decision for Twitter,” Dorsey wrote. “We faced an extraordinary and untenable circumstance, forcing us to focus all of our actions on public safety. Offline harm as a result of online speech is demonstrably real, and what drives our policy and enforcement above all.”

In reflecting on the decision, Dorsey concluded, “Our goal at this moment is to disarm as much as we can and ensure we are all building towards a greater common understanding and more peaceful existence on earth.”