Trump’s Angry at Twitter, But Not Enough to Quit Tweeting
Trump’s frustration with Twitter only goes so far: aides say he has no intention, at least right now, to stop tweeting.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump’s frustration with social media companies including Twitter Inc. only goes so far: aides say he has no intention, at least right now, to stop tweeting.
The president hosted what he called a “social media summit” at the White House on Thursday, where he and his allies complained that big tech companies have suppressed their voices out of political bias. Among the invitees: John Matze, the chief executive officer of Parler, a startup that’s attempting to challenge Twitter by promising users they can say practically anything they want.
Elise Rhodes, a Parler spokeswoman, said that although the president did not mention the company directly, he “said he is interested in exploring other platforms that support free speech.”
But Trump has no intention in the near future of abandoning Twitter for Parler or any other service, according to three people familiar with the matter. Two of the people said Parler in particular isn’t ready. They said Trump might join other services but won’t leave Twitter.
The people asked not to be identified discussing the president’s use of social media.
Trump has a following of about 62 million people on Twitter despite his claims that the company makes it difficult for people to follow him. Former President Barack Obama, however, is followed by 107 million people -- a discrepancy that may particularly irk Trump, who measures his presidency in large part by his success at erasing Obama’s accomplishments.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, John Harney
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