Twitter instituted its policy of refusing to ban politicians in response to President Trump, but the leader won’t enjoy that protection once he’s out of office.
Twitter has clarified that their “approach to world leaders, candidates, and public officials is based on the principle that people should be able to choose to see what their leaders are saying with clear context. … This policy framework applies to current world leaders and candidates for office, and not private citizens when they no longer hold these positions.”
In other words, Trump will soon be subject to the same rules the rest of us are required to follow.
Trump has clashed with Twitter numerous times in the past. In May, he claimed that Twitter was “stifling free speech” after the platform labeled his tweets about mail-in ballots as “unsubstantiated” and incorrect. In the past week, nearly all of his tweets have received a “misleading” or “disputed” label.
A change like this was largely expected, but also sets up a potential confrontation. Trump has a large following on Twitter, and he relies heavily on the social media site to share his views. There could be an uproar if Twitter bans him, even if his posts are no longer a matter of public record.
