Disagree with his Tweets? Prepare to be Trumped!

              President Trump is easily the most outspoken government figure on social media America has seen. Trump uses his personal Twitter account far more frequently than the official POTUS account, and often is seen engaging in Twitter fights with regular citizens and celebrities alike. While Trump’s use of social media is perfectly legal (due to the First Amendment), it is something American citizens were not used to, especially in comparison to his predecessor.

              The LosAngeles Times published an editorial today discussing Trump’s use of the block feature Twitter offers to prohibit disruptive users from accessing personal pages. It has been seen that Trump subsequently blocks people who openly oppose him, usually occurring after a heated argument. The Times calls Trump “childish”, an insult he is deserving of.  It is a new issue Americans are dealing with when their President posts controversial things, or in some cases insensitive or racist, and then prohibits opponents from commenting. America has never had a chief executive so technologically active, or one that infringes on political opposition.

              The author of this article is truly passionate about this debate, calling Trump childish, petty, and mocking his use of CAPITAL LETTERS. The author is clearly aiming at the younger generation who are active on and familiar with various social media outlets, namely Twitter. Although the older generations of American citizens certainly hear about what their President says, the younger generations tend to be the ones viewing firsthand and engaging in word battles with the President. It seems that the author is credible to write an editorial about Trump’s Twitter use considering their extensive knowledge of the site, and the ins and outs of proper social media etiquette. They seem to be rather disgruntled over Trump blocking people – any guessers that they themselves have been blocked by our nation’s leader? However, for someone writing this editorial, they do give Trump some brownie points in discussion over the plaintiffs in a court case suing him for blocking them claiming their First Amendment rights are being withheld. I would have expected them to side completely with the plaintiffs, but they admit the plaintiffs argument is debatable considering there are ways around being blocked to still access the tweets. This middle ground aids in creating a less of a bias towards anti-Trump, and allows readers to formulate their own opinions.

              I agree completely with this article, as it claims Trump shouldn’t block people for disagreeing with his statements if he is going to use Twitter as a means of engaging with the public. Trump, as our political leader and an expert Tweeter, should be able to handle the backlash some of his commentary brings. If he is not able to handle constructive criticism, opposition, or differing viewpoints, should be really be expressing his views for the millions of people on Twitter to see? Furthermore, should he really be leading the land of the free if he can’t support his claims, agree to disagree, or acknowledge other opinions?