Twitter decides to put up with Trump's offensive tweets

Some Trump critics claim that some of his tweets breach Twitter's rules of use. But it appears that the company will not close Trump's account even though Twitter has been cracking down on users it feels have violated its terms of service.

Trump actually has two accounts. The one from which he issues sometimes controversial tweets is "@realDonaldTrump" whereas the tweets from his "@POTUS account" tend to be more diplomatic.

Some liberal activists and Twitter users have long called for Twitter to ban him, claiming that he had broken the rules numerous times. Many of his tweets have mocked reporters and rivals and some see this as contrary to Twitter's commitment to be a "welcoming place". Some of the complaints against Trump came even before he became president. A recent tweet posted a mock video of Trump "body slamming" a man who had his face covered by a CNN logo. Some, such as the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, condemned the video and claimed it was a threat against journalists but a White House aide argued the video should not be seen as a threat.

In a series of tweets Trump ridiculed Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough who criticized the president on MSNBC's Morning Joe:"I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came … to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!"Among other statements Brzezinski had made about Trump was that if a business executive behaved as he did "there would be concern that perhaps the person who runs the company is out of his mind". NBC spokesperson Lorie Acio said in a statement: "It's a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying, lying and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job." White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended Trump saying that he fights fire with fire and will push back when attacked.

It is rather a grey area when it comes to assessing whether Trump has seriously violated Twitter's terms. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, said that the company did not comment on individual accounts — but then said in May that it was important to hear directly from leadership and have open conversations with citizens rather than behind closed doors. No doubt Twitter hopes that Trump's tweets can do their part to help the company's lagging fortunes.

In the April-June quarter Twitter's average monthly user base was up five percent to 328 million, but that was unchanged from the previous quarter. Twitter has never yet returned a profit. It lost 16 cents a share last quarter, compared to 15 cents a year earlier. Its revenue was down five percent but still slightly above what Wall Street analysts had projected.

Emma Lianso, who directs the Center for Democracy and Technology Free Expression Project said that many of Trumps' tweets are clearly politically relevant speech and have been even used in court cases such as on his travel ban. She said she would rather have a private company avoid deciding what should and shouldn't be allowed. Trump argues that social media allows him to get his message out in an "honest and unfiltered way". Twitter does provide a platform for Trump to directly interact with citizens without the news media as an intermediary. The CBC has an article that lists in chronological order important tweets Trump issued during his first 100 days in office.

As shown in the appended video, Trump is being sued by a number of Twitter users he has blocked.