President Donald Trump’s Twitter account ― a platform he used to govern and pick fights like no president before him ever has ― was permanently taken down Friday, and some lawmakers couldn’t be happier about it.
Several had called for the social media network to take down Trump’s account in recent days, citing the way he used the platform to incite violence by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Trump’s presence in office and on Twitter is “a clear and present danger,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said earlier Friday. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) echoed that: “Twitter should revoke the privileges of Trump for the safety of our country.”
Twitter initially banned Trump’s account for 12 hours following the riot as Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s election win, allowing Trump to unknowingly send out what would be his final tweets on Thursday and Friday.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th,” he announced in his last tweet.
Several lawmakers said Twitter’s decision was an important, if not overdue, move to prevent another violent uprising.
Thank you @twitter for taking this action. We must come together as a country to heal and find a common path forward. https://t.co/c3g2gCTUY9
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) January 8, 2021
An overdue step. But it’s important to remember, this is much bigger than one person. It’s about an entire ecosystem that allows misinformation and hate to spread and fester unchecked. https://t.co/wPc0AFWcgu
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) January 8, 2021
Good. Late, but good. pic.twitter.com/9VIYXAUJMn
— Senator Tina Smith (@SenTinaSmith) January 8, 2021
Finally Trump is losing the platform he used to foment outright insurrection and violence. Finally he will be barred from so openly fanning the flames of hate. I’ve long called on Twitter to take action, and tonight I’m relieved that it has.
— Rep. Frank Pallone (@FrankPallone) January 9, 2021
Good step @Twitter. But the damage can’t be undone. And what took so long? Now it’s time for @VP Pence to step up. Or we (Congress) will. https://t.co/HAXfwBSgPY
— Jan Schakowsky (@janschakowsky) January 8, 2021
I've been fighting to get harmful disinformation off social media platforms—this account was the biggest culprit.It spread conspiracies, sowed division & distrust, and inspired deadly violence.This action is too late, but I hope it means these companies are stepping up. https://t.co/RBs4BBW4ju
— Rep. Jennifer Wexton (@RepWexton) January 9, 2021
Well it’s about damn time, @jack. pic.twitter.com/R38ivsMR8V
— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) January 8, 2021
Others couldn’t help but poke fun at Trump losing access to a platform where he so often went off the rails. His penchant for tweeting throughout the day and late into the night ― sometimes to reveal major policy decisions or announce White House shakeups ― has become a defining characteristic of his presidency.
The Washington Post estimated in May that, at the time, Trump had spent 9 days, 16 hours and 30 minutes of his time in office writing tweets, once topping out at 200 tweets in a single day.
What’s that, @RealDonaldTrump? We can’t hear you.
— Rep. Diana DeGette (@RepDianaDeGette) January 9, 2021
“I don’t see the tweets” is gonna take on a different meaning.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 9, 2021
☀️ Cc: @SteveCarell @janemarielynch @Sethrogen https://t.co/emcGP4eDor pic.twitter.com/jbkouQBuQv
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) January 9, 2021
https://t.co/CFzldfGlFt pic.twitter.com/qaGwskEN7l
— Joyce Beatty (@RepBeatty) January 9, 2021
You truly love to see it. pic.twitter.com/e2avNIFKDb
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) January 8, 2021
A few other lawmakers and Trump allies weren’t so happy with Twitter’s decision, largely citing free speech issues in their complaints about the company’s action.
So the ayatollah, and numerous other dictatorial regimes can have Twitter accounts with no issue despite threatening genocide to entire countries and killing homosexuals etc… but The President of the United States should be permanently suspended. Mao would be proud.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 9, 2021
Big tech tyranny is playing out before our very eyes.
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) January 9, 2021
What happened on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol is as wrong as wrong can be. But canceling conservative speech will not promote “unity and healing.”It will only divide us further.
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) January 9, 2021
Twitter’s permanent suspension of President Trump is beyond disturbing. Instead of fostering open debate, this move will deepen the divide in this country. Unacceptable does not even begin to describe this move. pic.twitter.com/Fn7LkVBKSR
— Rep. Diana Harshbarger (@RepHarshbarger) January 8, 2021 RELATED… 
Twitter Permanently Bans Trump After Years Of Aggressive, Violent Rhetoric On Platform 
Donald Trump Is Disappearing From The Internet 
What It Was Like To Report From The Pro-Trump Riot At The Capitol 
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