Twitter responds to calls to suspend President Trump's account

image: Trump Twitter
The Twitter page for Donald J. Trump Copyright NBC News
Copyright NBC News
By Alyssa Newcomb with NBC News
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

Twitter issued a statement on Friday explaining why it isn't banning President Donald Trump - but did so without naming him.

Twitter issued a statement on Friday explaining why it isn't banning President Donald Trump after he boasted about his "nuclear button," but did so without ever using the president's name.

"Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate," Twitter said in a blog post. "It would also not silence that leader, but it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions."

image: Trump Twitter
The Twitter page for Donald J. Trump NBC News

Related: Twitter employee shuts down Trump's account on last day of work

Trump's tweet on Jan. 2, responding to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's statement about having a nuclear button on his desk, has caused some to question whether the president may have violated Twitter's terms of service by threatening to use the United States' nuclear weapons on North Korea.

Twitter's statement is the first time the company has addressed the uproar from Trump's tweet, but it still tiptoed around using the president's name, instead addressing the issue as it relates to "world leaders."

"We review tweets by leaders within the political context that defines them, and enforce our rules accordingly," said Twitter's post. "No one person's account drives Twitter's growth, or influences these decisions. We work hard to remain unbiased with the public interest in mind."

It's not the first time Trump has taunted the North Korean leader on Twitter. Last year, in Trumpian fashion, he bestowed the North Korean dictator with the nickname "little rocket man."

Share this articleComments

You might also like

Scale of Russian bots promoting Trump on Twitter revealed

Trump boasts of being ‘a very stable genius’