Twitter has censored another of President Donald Trump’s tweets – this time one vowing to send in the military to support Minneapolis, Minn. as protesters continue violence and destruction in reaction to the death of George Floyd.
“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right,” Trump tweeted early Friday morning.
I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” Trump added.
Trump’s tweets vowing to send in the military to Minneapolis on May 29, 2020 were censored by Twitter as “glorifying violence.” (Donald J. Trump/Twitter)
Twitter censored the second part of Trump’s tweet – concealing its contents behind a disclaimer and deactivating the like, comment, and retweet features – and included a label saying, “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
Around 10 p.m. local time in Minneapolis, protesters set The Minneapolis Police Department’s 3rd Precinct ablaze, forcing police officers to retreat. Protesters climbed on top of the building’s roof and celebrated its destruction.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz mobilized hundreds of National Guardsmen on Thursday in anticipation of increased violence.
Twitter’s latest censorship comes just hours after Trump signed an executive order to investigate social media companies’ legal protections and enable federal agencies to redefine their status when unfairly censoring users’ speech.
Trump said that Twitter had acted as “an editor with a viewpoint” and engaged in “political activism” by editing user tweets with fact check labels, in what he described as censorship.
The action came just two days after Twitter, for the first time, labeled two of Trump’s tweets as “potentially misleading” and included a fact-checking disclaimer.
Trump’s tweets about voter fraud on May 26, 2020 were flagged by Twitter as “potentially misleading” for the first time. (Donald J. Trump/Twitter)
Trump’s tweets had insisted that mail-in ballots could lead to fraud and election rigging, a claim Twitter labeled “unsubstantiated” and rebutted with tweets from verified users claiming the merits of mail-in voting.
