Twitter is serious about its ban on former US President Donald Trump. The platform has announced that it will never let Trump back on Twitter, even if Trump decides to run for president again in 2024.
Trump Is Barred From Twitter for Life
In the midst of Trump’s second impeachment trial, the chief financial officer of Twitter, Ned Segal, held an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box about the potential future of Trump’s Twitter account. Segal said that Twitter will never allow Trump on the platform again, regardless of whether he decides to run for office.
“The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO or you are a former or current public official,” says $TWTR CFO @nedsegal on if President Trump’s account could be restored. pic.twitter.com/ZZxascb9Rz
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) February 10, 2021
Segal noted that Twitter’s removal policies don’t discriminate, stating, “when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO or you are a former or current public official.”
He then went on to say that Twitter’s “policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence,” and if someone violates those policies, Twitter has to remove them. The platform’s rules “don’t allow people to come back.”
In other words, Trump can never return to Twitter, and the fact that he’s a former public official won’t change that. Twitter’s ban will also remain in effect should Trump try to run for president again.
Trump’s Tumultuous Relationship With Social Media
Twitter banned Trump following the riots at Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, for violating the platform’s incitement of violence policy. But even before this permanent ban, Trump and Twitter had a very rocky relationship.
Throughout Trump’s presidency, Twitter was frequently found flagging and removing Trump’s Tweets for violating the platform’s policies. The platform continuously labeled his Tweets for containing misinformation about voting, COVID-19, and even the integrity of the US elections.
Even still, Twitter wasn’t alone in labeling and restricting some of Trump’s Tweets. Facebook also had a big part in flagging Trump’s content for misinformation.
Trump was essentially banned from all of social media following the Washington, D.C. protests. Not only did Twitter remove Trump from its platform, but Facebook, Instagram Snapchat, YouTube, and even Twitch took action on Trump’s account.
The Grim Future of Trump’s Social Presence
Now that Trump is barred from nearly all of the major social platforms, it’s unclear whether he’ll ever resurface on social media. For some, this is a welcome notion, but for others, the ban of Trump’s accounts is a violation of free speech.
Parler, the so-called free speech social network, likely would’ve welcomed Trump’s presence with open arms. But now that the platform has fired its own CEO and was booted from the entire internet, it’ll probably be weeks (or maybe even months) until Parler returns.