Donald Trump has been off Twitter since early January when the social media platform “permanently suspended” his account due to “the risk of further incitement of violence.” The former-president claims he’s doing fine without being able to tweet (and in a real Bender building his own theme park move, he’s reportedly working on his his own social media site that will attract “tens of millions” of MAGA followers), but does anyone believe him? No. Twitter has been a quieter, 0.0000000001 percent more civilized place without #45’s piping hot Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart takes, but Bernie Sanders, one of Trump’s biggest foes, thinks his suspension sets a dangerous precedent.
On a recent episode of The Ezra Klein Show podcast, Sanders called Trump a “a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, a pathological liar, an authoritarian, somebody who doesn’t believe in the rule of law.” That being said, “If you’re asking me, do I feel particularly comfortable that the president, the then-president of the United States, could not express his views on Twitter? I don’t feel comfortable about it.” He continued:
“I don’t like giving that much power to a handful of high tech people, but the devil is obviously in the details and it’s something we’re going to have to think long and hard on, and that is how you preserve First Amendment rights without moving this country into a big lie mentality and conspiracy theories.”
Sanders has previously said that “we should definitely take a look at” at breaking up Big Tech companies like Facebook and Twitter — even if it means letting Trump back on to tweet more “garbage.” You can listen to the podcast episode below.
I’ve interviewed @SenSanders many times over the years. But this conversation is, by far, the most optimistic I’ve heard him. He changed politics, and now he wants to see how far he can push.
You should listen to the whole thing, but a few excerpts:https://t.co/9zDHB2h7zu
— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) March 23, 2021
(Via Axios)