Donald Trump Just Blocked Stephen King on Twitter
And It May Land Him in Court
President Donald Trump has over 32 million followers on his personal Twitter account, which he opened eight years ago. (Unsurprisingly, nearly half of them are bots.) Trump does not have conversations on Twitter, his communication is strictly one-way: his way. It’s not surprising, since that’s how Trump operates.Â
Another way he operates is by blocking people on Twitter who disagree with him.
The White House last week made it official: tweets from the President represent official White House statements.Â
And that’s a problem, as NCRM has reported, because there are reports that President Donald Trump is increasingly blocking people on Twitter. Which means there’s a civil rights issue for those people involved.Â
People like Holly O’Reilly, after she tweeted to Trump, “YOU ARE THE LEAKER, you bloody idiot. God, you’re embarrassing,†according to The New York Times.Â
YOU ARE THE LEAKER, you bloody idiot. God, you’re embarrassing. So glad we are finally getting the TRUTH. https://t.co/RddfpVuPiU @marchfeed
— Holly O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) May 28, 2017
And Rob Szczerba, after he posted this tweet, a few days after Holly O’Reilly’s:
I heard #covfefe is a new flavor from Ben & Jerry’s. But it’s mostly just nuts! #ParisAgreement #ParisAccord
— Rob Szczerba (@RJSzczerba) June 2, 2017
Here’s what happened:
Tonight I am honored to join an elite club … #BlockedByTrump. Apparently, I hurt the feelings of the “leader of the free world”. SAD! pic.twitter.com/yQGyt2yBJE
— Rob Szczerba (@RJSzczerba) June 2, 2017
Comedy writer Bess Kalb also got blocked:
OH. MY. EFFING. GOD.
The President of the United States just blocked me on Twitter because I hurt his feelings. #MAGA pic.twitter.com/oB5zTAs7In— Bess Kalb (@bessbell) May 29, 2017
And now today, renowned, award-winning author Stephen King. Yes, that Stephen King, the best-selling author who has sold hundreds of millions of books. A Democrat, King has engaged in political activism, and through his philanthropic work, donates millions of dollars each year.
Today, it was Stephen King’s political activism that prompted the President of the United States to block him on Twitter:
Trump has blocked me from reading his tweets. I may have to kill myself.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 13, 2017
It appears this is the tweet that hurt Trump’s ego:
Trump’s cabinet offers a postgraduate-level course in ass-kissing.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 13, 2017
The wonderful J.K. Rowling came to King’s rescue, USA Today noted:
I still have access. I’ll DM them to you. https://t.co/MhibEYDBTg
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 13, 2017
Trump today also blocked a veterans group which says it represents a half-million vets:
The Commander in Chief can block @VoteVets, the voice of 500k military veterans and families, but we will NOT be silenced. pic.twitter.com/SaCN5hKU9R
— VoteVets (@votevets) June 13, 2017
Now, back to that civil rights issue.
Since Trump’s tweets are official White House statements, Trump blocking a U.S. citizen on Twitter violates their First Amendment rights, as WIRED magazine reports.
“The First Amendment bars the government from censoring individuals in [public] forums, based on their views.”
And Trump’s insistence on blocking those whose opinions he doesn’t like is about to land him in court.Â
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