Trump’s paranoia is growing by the minute as he claimed during a joint press conference with the president of Brazil that Facebook and Twitter are colluding against him.
Don't Miss Sarah Jones's Essay On Kristi Noem Titled Predatory Is The Point On The Daily.
Trump said:
Well, we have to do something. I tell you, I have many, many millions of followers on Twitter, and it’s different than it used to be. Things are happening, names are taken off, people aren’t getting through. You’ve heard the same complaints. It seems to be if they’re conservative, if they’re Republicans, if they’re in a certain group, there’s discrimination and big discrimination. I see it absolutely on Twitter and Facebook, which I have also, and others. I really focus more on the one platform. I guess we have almost 60 million on Twitter. If you add them all up, it’s way over 100 million people.
I get to see firsthand what’s going on, and it’s not good. We use the word collusion very loosely all the time, and I will tell you there is collusion with respect to that because something has to be going on. When you get the back scene, back office statements made by executives of the various companies and you see the level of, in many cases, hatred they have for a certain group of people that happen to be in power, that happen to have won the election, you say that’s really unfair.
Video:
Trump is claiming that Facebook, Twitter, and Google are colluding against him. https://t.co/Kr9gONd0av pic.twitter.com/LjktF6DL3W
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 19, 2019
So something is happening with those groups of folks that are running Facebook and Google and Twitter, and I do think we have to get to the bottom of it. It’s very fair. It’s collusive and very, very fair to say that we have to do something about it. And if we don’t, you know, the incredible thing is that we can win an election and we have such a stacked deck. That includes networks, frankly. You look at the networks, you look at the news, you look at the newscasts. I call it fake news. I’m very proud to hear the president use the term fake news.
But you look at what’s happening with the networks, you look at what’s happening with different shows, and it’s hard to believe we win. I’ll tell you what it really shows, the people are smart. The people get it. They’ll go through all of that, whatever it is they’re fed, and in the end, they pull the right lever. It’s a very, very dangerous so I think I agree. I think something has to be looked at very closely.
Trump is threatening social media because he is trying to silence criticism
Trump was trying to pressure Facebook, Google, and Twitter into silencing critics of him and his administration. The president is sending a warning to social media companies that they better cut out the criticism, or he will make them pay. Notice how Trump is trying to reassign the word the collusion to the media and not his own potential behavior with Russians.
Donald Trump is trying to stifle criticism by trying to close down venues for dialogue about him and his administration. The social media companies don’t hate Republicans. They are trying to clean up the Russian propaganda that Republicans are spreading on social networks.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
