On Friday, Twitter announced that they had permanently removed outgoing President Donald Trump’s account from the platform over concern about the potential for further incitement of violence from the unhinged and soon-to-be former commander-in-chief. Some on the president’s side, including Donald Trump Jr., haven’t exactly taken well to this move. Nevertheless, the idea that Twitter has somehow truly silenced the president of the United States is just ignorant nonsense — he’s the president of the United States. If he has something to say, there’s an entire group of White House journalists ready to share his remarks.
My thoughts this morning on the flagrant assault on free speech that’s happening in America today. Check it out and let me know your thoughts. https://t.co/7SH5nFymCR
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 9, 2021
In a rambling diatribe, Jr. suggested — among other things — that “Big Tech effectively eliminated that very basic American right” of free speech, which is just laughably ridiculous. Large technology companies have not, in any reasonable respect, “eliminated” free speech in the United States. Technology companies who provide social media platforms are private entities, and within the internet spaces that they control, they set clear requirements for using their services. When users violate these requirements, the companies may kick them off their platforms — and these individuals are, of course, free to find some other place on the internet to spout their vitriol.
Before his Twitter ban, Trump used the platform to openly justify the attack on the U.S. Capitol earlier this week, which is connected to five deaths. The idea that tech companies should be compelled to allow the presence of language like brazen justifications for violence against top legislators is ridiculous, and the broader notion that “free speech” essentially amounts to the freedom to say just about anything and everything is just not accurate.
Trump Jr. rambled as follows:
‘It’s a sad day when Big Tech has more power than Big Government, that they can censor the president of the United States — again, while letting dictatorial regimes that make a hobby out of killing people they don’t like — they let them run free and rampant… You’d think the media would say something about this, but again they’ve gone full Leftist. They are no longer journalists — they haven’t been in a long time… They’re okay with that… Honestly guys, it’s sad and it’s sick… This is a monopoly on thought. This is a monopoly on free speech that these companies have.’
The claim that journalists are “okay with” giving free passes to murderous regimes is a heinous lie unconnected to reality, and the broader idea that penalties for the president’s personal Twitter account following his brazen incitement of deadly violence is evidence of some kind of corporate conspiracy against conservatives is ridiculous and sounds purposefully ignorant.
Check out Twitter’s response below:
