If a person cannot tweet they can still blog, newsletter, email, and even whisper their truth via their free speech to the next person all they like.
Private companies can censor. Censorship isn't the sole domain of the government.
Twitter is censoring the President on its platform. As is their right to do so as Twitter is not the government. At least the last time I checked.
If he always and at all times has unfettered access to a rabid following, there is no moderation, no mediation, and we get our current situation.
Media can and has refused to publish his BS
The media has regularly ignored presidential press conferences they didn't care about for decades now. Bush, Obama, and Trump all had many press conferences that received minimal coverage. In that light, it's no surprise that a President would seek our a more direct line of communication.
People on a medium tend to overstate that media’s influence. Newspapers routinely refuse to print politicians’ op eds. Twitter is more pervasive, but it’s far from universal. As long as it’s not fiddled with around elections, de-platforming is fine.
The President does have certain abilities to commandeer media time, but that would require making an official address.
I'm curious what you've been reading or watching that led you to believe that's likely
- Press releases
- Holding a news conference
- For emergencies, IPAWS
Twitter not carrying his messages is akin to CNN choosing not to broadcast his rallies. It's not censorship.
The President is inciting violence by spreading dangerous misinformation and not condemning domestic terrorists.
Our sacred democratic institutions and world standing have taken a big hit. And, even worse - American lives were lost today due to this rhetoric.
We can't continue acting like this is a matter of hurr durr censorship anymore. It's time to move past idealism and into reality: people are in danger. Words have consequences.
We saw today what happens when people with immense power spout extremist ideology for years without consequence.
Let today's action by Twitter be part of the consequence. It's not censorship: it's consequence. Trump will not be arrested or chased for his rhetoric. He simply won't be able to spout it to the masses on a privately owned platform.
A life was lost today. There should be some consequence.