If you are a government official and use Twitter for official business — like giving orders to the Justice Dept. or announcing international deals — then you can’t cut your constituents off from reading what you’re communicating. Seems pretty straightforward.
If Trump doesn’t like the comments he gets, he doesn’t need to read them. That’s the cost of being an elected representative. Being a pompous snowflake isn’t an excuse.
Donald Trump cannot block anyone on Twitter, court rules | US news | The Guardian
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I was curious how the court would handle the distinction between the @realdonaldtrump account and the @potus account.
That was addressed right in the subtitle of the article:
"A New York judge rules @realDonaldTrump is a presidential, not personal, account and blocking violates the first amendment"
But what happens to the @realdonaldtrump account after January 20, 2025 (or perhaps a teeny bit sooner)? Does it revert to being a personal account, or is it managed as archival material by the government?
(Including "covfefe.")
How does a court regulate something which occurs within a service provided by a private enterprise? This isn't a ruling on Trump, but on Twitter. The company would have to refuse him the capacity to block.
+John E. Bredehoft Presumably once he is no longer able to pronounce government policy, his stuff goes back to not needing retention or access. And, one hopes back to being obscure.
+Travis Bird As blocking is an action of the account holder, Trump can be held accountable for his continuing to do so. In theory, I supposed, Twitter could be sued to take the power away from him, but that actually would seem to be more of a stretch