Twitter Puts the Kibosh on National Archives' Plan for Trump Tweets

Twitter doesn't want them on the platform ever again
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 8, 2021 2:00 AM CDT
Twitter Puts the Kibosh on National Archives' Trump Tweets Plan
This April 26, 2017 file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

The tweets that got former President Trump booted from Twitter may be gone from the social media platform forever, despite the National Archives' desires. Twitter on Wednesday told Politico it will not allow the National Archives and Records Administration to bring the tweets that Trump posted while president from his @realDonaldTrump account back to Twitter for archival purposes. NARA says it is "is still exploring the best way" to make the federally archived version of Trump's banned Twitter feed public, likely as a download on the Trump Presidential Library website. Fox News reports that even Trump tweets that were blocked or deleted by Twitter will be included. Politico notes Twitter's move will likely inflame the controversy over whether social media companies wield too much power over communication.

"America getting a little taste of communism..." reads one sample response to the news on, yes, Twitter. Others, however, indicated glee that Trump's words won't re-emerge on the site, though at least one person pointed out that the Trump Twitter Archive already exists. NARA maintains archival versions of other former members of the Trump administration (including the @POTUS account from when Trump, not Joe Biden, held it), but Twitter points out in a statement that "administration accounts that are archived on the service are accounts that were not in violation of the Twitter Rules." Trump was booted for violating terms of service regarding glorifying violence in the wake of the January 6 US Capitol riot. The ban was controversial on both sides of the political aisle, though; even far-left Sen. Bernie Sanders said he wasn't comfortable with it. (More Twitter stories.)

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