Since the beginning of Trump’s announced intention to run the presidency, it’s been expected that his insane, insulting, childish Twitter habit would eventually get him into trouble. Once he actually became the president, those concerns only grew. It’s one thing for a sitting president to get information out to his base about policy decisions and to weigh in on debates, but it’s entirely another to accuse people of crimes, call for the death penalty in cases that have not yet been completed, and insult foreign government leaders.
JUST IN: Federal judge rules that President Trump’s Twitter account cannot block individuals for the political views they have expressed. – @Tom_Winter pic.twitter.com/RMVkFH7WAX
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) May 23, 2018
For now, a federal judge in New York has ruled that Trump will have to curb one bad Twitter habit as president.
JUST IN: Federal judge rules Pres. Trump can't block people from his Twitter account, saying such action violates the First Amendment. https://t.co/BIvskddNqp pic.twitter.com/5tkv386XzN
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) May 23, 2018
To date, Trump has blocked scores of Twitter accounts from seeing his own, including a group of 500,000 veterans who are part of a non-profit organization called VoteVets, author Stephen King, journalists, and government officials who have been critical of his tweets.
Here's the tweet that got me blocked by @realDonaldTrump
Now he has to UNBLOCK me. You are not above the 1st Amendment. DRUMPF!!! pic.twitter.com/3o1WOkpxHo
— Sāvion (@SavionWright) May 23, 2018
On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled that Trump can no longer block Twitter accounts whose personal views differ from his own as president. In fact, she ruled that the act of blocking American citizens on social media by a sitting president is unconstitutional.
According to ABC News, Buchwald’s written ruling states that:
‘This case requires us to consider whether a public official may, consistent with the First Amendment, ‘block’ a person from his Twitter account in response to the political views that person has expressed, and whether the analysis differs because that public official is the President of the United States. The answer to both questions is no.’
JUST IN: Federal judge rules Pres. Trump can't block people from his Twitter account, saying such action violates the First Amendment. https://t.co/o9bIE6zxeb pic.twitter.com/CM0MYuhqMu
— ABC News (@ABC) May 23, 2018
For now, Trump will just have to deal with the fact that he may be the least popular president in history.
Featured image via Getty/NurPhoto
