President Donald Trump met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle about how the President's tweets are handled.
Hours before his meeting with Dorsey, the president accused his social media platform of playing “political games” with his follower count, which currently sits at just under 60 million, which Trump believes should be higher.
“The best thing ever to happen to Twitter is Donald Trump.” @MariaBartiromo So true, but they don’t treat me well as a Republican. Very discriminatory, hard for people to sign on. Constantly taking people off list. Big complaints from many people. Different names-over 100 M…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019
…..But should be much higher than that if Twitter wasn’t playing their political games. No wonder Congress wants to get involved – and they should. Must be more, and fairer, companies to get out the WORD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019
According to what an anonymous source with knowledge of the meeting told The Washington Post, Dorsey stressed that changes to the platform's policy would cause follower numbers to fluctuate, even citing his own as an example.
On the other side of the aisle, those on the left who have pointed out how Trump’s tweets occasionally break Twitter’s rules have called for the president to be banned from the platform.
“Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate,” the company wrote in a blog post responding to calls to punish Trump's account. “It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions.”
Great meeting this afternoon at the @WhiteHouse with @Jack from @Twitter. Lots of subjects discussed regarding their platform, and the world of social media in general. Look forward to keeping an open dialogue! pic.twitter.com/QnZi579eFb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019
Trump is not the only conservative with complaints about his treatment on Twitter, as Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is suing the social media platform for $250 million due to parody accounts for “defamation” and “insulting words.”
A Twitter internal email first acquired by Motherboard regarding the meeting did not state what the meeting would be about but did give further reasoning surrounding Dorsey's thought process around accepting the invitation.
“As you know, I believe that conversation, not silence, bridges gaps and drives towards solutions,” Dorsey wrote. “I have met with every world leader who has extended an invitation to me, and I believe the discussions have been productive, and the outcomes meaningful.”
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