President Donald Trump was reportedly left "ballistic" after Twitter permanently suspended his account. Photo / AP
President Donald Trump was reportedly left "ballistic" after Twitter permanently suspended his account. Photo / AP
Donald Trump was reportedly left "ballistic" after Twitter permanently suspended him as the US President's allies accused the social media company of Orwellian censorship.
Locked out of his favourite mode of mass communication and facing mounting calls for his removal from office, Trump was isolated and silent in the WhiteHouse yesterday.
The online crackdown also saw the Trump campaign's Twitter account suspended and the YouTube channel for a podcast from Steve Bannon, Trump's ex-chief strategist, disabled.
Meanwhile, concerns are growing that the January 20 inauguration when Joe Biden is sworn in as president could be disrupted after Trump supporters called online for a "Million Militia March".
Democrats next week are set to start the process of impeaching Trump for encouraging the mob which stormed the US Capitol, with likely success in the House of Representatives.
A Senate trial on whether to remove him could begin after Biden's inauguration, when the Democrats will control the chamber. Although still unlikely, if convicted Trump could be barred from running to be president again.
Trump supporters break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington DC on Thursday. Photo / AP
Debate was heated over Twitter's actions, with Trump "ballistic", according to a senior administration official quoted anonymously in Politico, and suggesting he may start his own social media site.
Hillary Clinton, the Democrat defeated by Trump in the 2016 presidential election, simply posted a tick in response.
Wow. Included in Twitter’s statement, explaining why it banned Trump: “Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.”
But some prominent Trump supporters were scathing.
Jason Miller, a longtime Trump adviser, called it "disgusting". Donald Trump Jr, the president's son, referenced author George Orwell's dystopian book, saying: "We are living Orwell's 1984. Free-speech no longer exists in America."
Nikki Haley, who served as Trump's UN ambassador, tweeted: "Silencing people, not to mention the President of the US, is what happens in China not our country. Unbelievable."
.@potus@realDonaldTrump should sue @twitter and @jack back to the Stone Age. They committed illegal election interference, and are now trying to silence the 75M who voted for President Trump.
