President Donald Trump has a pretty fraught relationship with the First Amendment, and some Twitter users called him out on this Sunday morning. He invoked “Freedom of Speech,” demanding that Twitter let certain banned “Conservative Voices” back on the site.
Twitter should let the banned Conservative Voices back onto their platform, without restriction. It’s called Freedom of Speech, remember. You are making a Giant Mistake!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2019
Others pointed out his anti-press comments, and that fact that he banned people on the platform.
Trump: “It’s called Freedom of Speech.”
Also Trump: SNL should be sued for libel, the press are the enemy of the people and NFL players shouldn’t kneel.
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) June 9, 2019
Comedy writer Nick Jack Pappas, who previously sued the president under the First Amendment for blocking him on Twitter, joked that Trump should boycott the platform and never Tweet again. Others joined in on knocking POTUS.
You blocked me for saying Miracle Whip was more popular than you and I had to sue you to get unblocked…
Let’s slow down on “Freedom Of Speech”.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) June 9, 2019
The man who want to take satire to the courts confuses freedom of speech with the right to spread conspiracy theories on a private platform. https://t.co/bVm0PFIxix
— Morten Øverbye (@morten) June 9, 2019
“Republican President nationalizes internet and imposed common carriage requirements to protect racists bots” is just not how I thought this was gonna go https://t.co/wdTorUN7vI
— nilay patel (@reckless) June 9, 2019
Professor Yascha Mounk, a political scientist working with Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, adopted a different tone.
Your regular reminder that it’s possible to approve of a concept, like freedom of speech, even though somebody you rightly dislikes hypocritically invokes it.
In fact, sincerity and intellectual consistency would otherwise become impossible. pic.twitter.com/ogz2GkpwDx
— Yascha Mounk (@Yascha_Mounk) June 9, 2019
[Image via SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images]
