Thread by @DougKass

My 2020 @realdonaldtrump "No Apologies" Tour continues:
On the day that US coronavirus deaths surpassed 100,000, Trump threatened to “close down” Twitter for having the moral courage to suggest that Trump is a liar. On the day that US coronavirus deaths surpassed 100,000,

Joe Biden delivered a heartfelt message to grieving Americans who have lost family members to the virus. It was a tale of two presidents—present and future. Biden was somber but comforting as he said,
"I can promise you from personal experience, the day will come when the memory

of your loved one will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes. For all of you who are hurting so badly, I’m so sorry for your loss. This nation grieves with you. Take some solace from the fact we all grieve with you."
For those of you who doubt

Joe Biden’s ability to lead this nation during a time of crisis, I urge you to watch the video of his remarks. For those of you who are convinced Trump will win in 2020 despite his increasingly ugly and unhinged rhetoric, I urge you to read his Twitter feed yesterday -which

includes the following gems: “Arguably the greatest president in our history (referring to himself);” “Psycho Joe Scarborough rattled about Cold Case;” “Obamagate is worse than Watergate;” “Obama Administration SPIED on the Trump Campaign;” and “Certainly a great honor to be

compared, in any way, to Winston Churchill.” Pathetic, delusional, and scary
On Wednesday, Trump called for the federal government to “close them down”— referring to social media companies (like Twitter) that allegedly muzzle conservative voices. For a man who seeks to project

an image as a strongman and tough guy, he has a thin skin and fragile ego. Even Trump’s base believes that his use of Twitter is a negative factor. Politico (5/20/19), “Poll: Voters say Trump’s Twitter use could cost him reelection.” (Twice as many voters believe Trump’s Twitter

use is hurting, rather than helping, his reelection efforts.)
It is worth pausing for a moment to state the obvious: Repressing freedom of speech is the stuff of dictators. Yet, a party that once railed against big government and restrictions on personal liberty remained mute

as Trump assaulted the twin pillars of its existence. As I write, Trump is crafting an executive order that will restrict how American businesses operate in the marketplace of ideas. See Politico, “Trump to sign executive order on social media amid Twitter furor.” The

speculation is that Trump’s order will “target a 24-year old statute” that insulates companies from lawsuits.” Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 protects websites from lawsuits over posts by users.
Hmm. . . Trump is about to threaten the business models

of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snap, Tik Tok, Linked-In, Messenger, What’s App, WeChat, and Reddit. Seems like a bad idea to me, but that hasn’t stopped Trump on prior occasions. Let’s see how far his “executive order” advances his ability to bring Twitter to heel

. . . and how petty and small he appears in doing so. One thing is for sure, if he subjects social media companies to financial liability for the statements of their users, I suspect that a new tidal wave of money will flood out of Silicon Valley into the 2020 election—which

will only accelerate an existing phenomenon. See Vox, “Tech billionaires are funding the Democratic Party whether Democrats like it or not.”
While I admit occasional personal irritation at social media companies that allow Trump to run amok, the truth is that protecting the

broadest possible right to free speech is critical to American democracy. The problem is not Twitter’s policies; it is Trump. See The Atlantic, “Trump Is a Problem That Twitter Cannot Fix.” (“The threshold for completely removing a statement by a democratically elected leader

should be extraordinarily high.”) The Atlantic article provides a thoughtful discussion of the difficulties faced by social media companies in curbing abusive comments by users. It changed my views on the subject.
Some urge me to ignore Trump. That would be hard to do, but I

think the some have point that Trump’s influence through Twitter is greatly exaggerated and should not consume so much attention. Fair point. In 2018, more than 60% of Trump’s followers were “bots, spam, or inactive accounts.” A small fraction of users accounts for most of the

activity on Twitter. See PEW Research, “National Politics on Twitter: Small Share of U.S. Adults Produce Majority of Tweets.” (“97% of tweets from U.S. adults that mentioned national politics over the study period came from just 10% of users.) While we should not give undue

weight to Trump’s tweets, we should take them as evidence of the character of the man. In that regard, they are damning.
On a day when the coronavirus death toll surpassed 100,000, Trump retweeted statements asserting that he was “arguably the greatest president ever”

and on par with Winston Churchill. Joe Biden used Twitter to remember the dead and comfort the living. A tale of two presidents. Twitter is not the problem. Trump is the problem. @jimcramer @tomkeene @joesquawk @SquawkCNBC @andrewrsorkin @beckyquick @carlquintanilla

@ScottWapnerCNBC @michaelsantoli @bobpisani @riskreversal @terranovajoe @guyadami @saraeisen @SullyCNBC @lizclaman @FerroTV @pimmfox @aronberg @threadreaderapp unroll