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Twitter CFO: If Trump runs again, his ban will remain
Even if former President Donald Trump runs again in 2024, his ban from Twitter will remain permanent, the company’s chief financial officer said Wednesday.
In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program Wednesday morning, host Rebecca Quick asked Twitter CFO Ned Segal whether the social media site would still keep its ban on Trump if he ran again and became president again.
“The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO or you are a former or current public official,” Segal responded.
“Our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence,” he added, “and if anybody does that, we would have to remove them from the service and our policies don’t allow people to come back.”
“So, no?” Quick asked.
“He was removed when he was president, and there’d be no difference for anybody who [was] a public official once they’ve been removed from the service,” Segal replied.
Shortly following a mob violently storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6—the same day that Congress, overseen by then-Vice President Mike Pence, was set to certify the states’ Electoral College votes and thus President Joe Biden‘s 2020 election victory—multiple social media sites either suspended or permanently banned his accounts. Generally speaking, they argued that Trump violated their policies and was using the platforms to spread misinformation and undermine the democratic process.
Prior to Twitter permanently banning Trump, he was protected by the platform’s world leader policy, which exempts currently serving global leaders from penalties for posting certain policy-violating content. Trump, the company argued, needed to be held accountable for violating its policies, despite still being a world leader at the time.
Exactly one week after the riot, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 232-197 to impeach Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” On Tuesday, the trial in the U.S. Senate began, the first one ever for a former president. If the chamber successfully convicts him, which isn’t expected to happen, one result would be a ban on Trump—who hasn’t ruled out a 2024 campaign—from running for office ever again.
RELATED: Senate votes 56-44 that impeachment trial is constitutional, six GOP senators break ranks
In their arguments, those in favor of convicting the former commander-in-chief have especially pointed to certain comments Trump made at the January 6 White House rally shortly before the riot and in the lead-up to the rally.
RELATED: Joe Scarborough calls for arrests of Trump, Giuliani, Trump Jr. for insurrection in fiery speech
In one of those comments among several others, Trump said toward the end of his speech to a fiery crowd of supporters: “We’re going to the Capitol” to give Republicans the “boldness that they need to take back our country.”
“Let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue,” he added, then telling the crowd he would “be there with you.”
On the other hand, those defending the former president, aside from claiming it’s unconstitutional to impeach Trump now that he’s out of office, have argued that he did not specifically tell his supporters to commit acts of violence and that there is no objective way to prove the election wasn’t stolen from Trump.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
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EXCLUSIVE: Former Trump appointee explains an ‘America First Strategy’ in the ME
The author interviewed Ellie Cohanim, one of the authors of the new book: “An America First Approach to US National Security.” Ellie is the former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism under the Trump administration. She is currently a Senior Fellow with the Independent Women’s Forum focusing on Iran, Israel, and global antisemitism, and is a national security contributor for the Christian Broadcasting Network. In 2021, Ellie launched and hosted for Jewish News Syndicate 30 plus episodes of the show “Global Perspectives with Ellie Cohanim.” Ellie spent 15 years in media and NGO management before serving in the public sector. How would you define an “America First” strategy in the Middle East?
Cohanim: An America First strategy in the Middle East would seek to advance American national security interests in that region, while maintaining our status as THE global superpower. To do that, the US would ensure that our principal allies in the region, countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel, are economically and militarily strong, and that our adversaries in the region are deterred.
Postal: How has the United States’ standing in the Middle East differed between the Trump and Biden administrations?
Cohanim: Under President Trump, for four years we had peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region. Under President Biden, in just three tumultuous years there has been war in the region, which holds the potential for becoming a regional conflict and even a nuclear confrontation. Meanwhile, the US’ status in the region and the world has diminished due to Biden’s disastrous mishandling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, his emboldening of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his weak response to Iranian attacks on our personnel and assets in the region.
It was my honor to join @SaraCarterDC on #TheSaraCarterShow: https://t.co/LooiFkxx34
— Ellie Cohanim (@EllieCohanim) March 12, 2024
Postal: Do you think the United States and Israel are/were in a stronger position to deter Iran’s nuclear and territorial ambitions in Biden or Trump’s administration?
Cohanim: America’s position of strength has not changed under either administration vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran. What has changed is our Iran policy. Under President Trump’s administration, the US contained and constrained Tehran. Trump applied a “Maximum Pressure” sanctions campaign which left the Iranian Regime with only $4 billion in accessible foreign currency reserves by the end of his term, giving the Iranians less cash and less ability to fund their terror proxies and their nuclear program, and Trump eliminated Qassem Soleimani. While all President Biden needed to do was to continue implementing such successful policies, his administration instead did the exact opposite. Under the Biden administration, Israel, our leading ally in the region, was attacked for the first time directly from Iranian soil. This was an unprecedented escalatory attack by the Iranian regime, and could only happen under the Biden administration.
Postal: In your chapter of the book, you discuss the weakening of US relations with Israel and Saudi Arabia under the Biden administration. How has the Biden administration affected the likelihood of future normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and deals between Israel and other Muslim countries (i.e., new Abraham Accords)?
Cohanim: The good news is that the Abraham Accords have withstood the test of multiple Hamas provocations against Israel, and now the current war. Despite numerous claims from the Biden administration regarding “successful” efforts to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, I do not think that the Biden administration will be able to clinch such a deal. In the Middle East, people have a long memory. Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has not forgotten President Biden’s snub when he first came into office, and Biden’s incredibly poorly advised behavior towards the Crown Prince when he made his first visit to the Kingdom as president. The last thing the Crown Prince wants is to hand Biden his first foreign policy success with a Rose Garden peace deal ceremony. So, I do not believe President Biden can broker Saudi/Israeli normalization.
However, I am also convinced that it is a matter of “when” and not “if” such a peace deal will happen between those two countries, as it serves both of their interests to make such a deal. The Saudis understand better than anyone that it is the Islamic Republic of Iran that threatens the Kingdom’s security and stability, not Israel.
Postal: What do you think of the Biden administration’s latest statements withholding arms to Israel?
Cohanim: President Biden will go down in history for his abject moral failure in not standing by Israel while she fights a five-front war. Biden has shown his despicable personality for trying to keep his anti-Israel arms embargo concealed until he could first deliver a speech on the Holocaust. Biden’s behavior is despicable on so many levels.
Ultimately, Biden is betraying the American people. He came into office presenting himself as a “centrist Democrat,” but has proven repeatedly to be beholden to the radical, extremist, pro-Hamas wing of his party.
Postal: How does the Biden administration’s support of a Palestinian state differ from the Trump administration’s support of a Palestinian state under its Peace to Prosperity framework?
Cohanim: The Biden administration stated that they will “unilaterally recognize” a Palestinian state. What the borders of that state are and who would lead it, nobody knows.
The Trump administration’s “Peace to Prosperity” was a detailed plan that was premised on the realities on the ground in Israel. The plan required that the Palestinians reach benchmarks proving a real desire to live in peace with their Israeli neighbors. It included over $50 billion in investment in the region, which would have been a road to prosperity for all. Perhaps most significantly, the Palestinian state envisioned under the Trump plan would have been demilitarized, the wisdom of which could not be more clear following the October 7 massacre and attack.
The author would like to thank Ellie Cohanim for participating in this interview.
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