Donald Trump is tweeting again.
A day after Twitter temporarily locked the president's account, Trump once again has the keys to his social media kingdom. Trump released a short video Thursday decrying the violent pro-Trump extremists who on Wednesday took over the U.S. Capitol.
"The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defiled the seat of American democracy," Trump says in the video he posted first to Twitter and then on YouTube. "To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction you do not represent our country, and to those who broke the law you will pay."
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Of course, the people who engaged in the acts of violence do represent at least one element of our country: Trump supporters.
Trump was initially temporary prevented from tweeting after his first response to the attack on the Capitol was to seemingly egg it on — saying, among other things, that he loved the people who broke into the building. It's not exactly clear when Twitter lifted the ban. It's been 30 hours since insurrectionists took over the Capitol, and only now, after violence, death, and destruction is Trump calling for "a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power." Before the riot, he told his supporters gathered in D.C. "you will never take back our country with weakness.”
According to Twitter, Trump was first required to delete three tweets the company had already hidden behind a warning label before the lock could be lifted.
"We can confirm that the violative Tweets have been deleted," a Twitter spokesperson confirmed over email. "Confirming the 12 hour lock did begin after the Tweets were deleted, but we've nothing more specific to share on timing."
Notably, Trump remains unable to post on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitch — at least until the end of his term.
Topics X/Twitter Donald Trump
