In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s controversial remarks about Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, Minnesota Rep. and Democratic National Convention Deputy Chair Keith Ellison is pushing for one thing — that Trump’s personal account get banned from Twitter for repeated instances of abusive and bullying behavior.
As the New York Times reported, the uproar began yesterday, when Trump took to Twitter to fire off a series of controversial tweets about MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski, suggesting that the Morning Joe co-host may have been “bleeding badly from a facelift” during a New Year’s Eve function at the President’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trump also referred to Brzezinski as “low IQ Crazy Mika” in another tweet, and while the White House didn’t immediately comment on what triggered Trump’s comments, a spokeswoman told the New York Times that the President was reacting to how Mika and her co-host, former Republican Rep. Joe Scarborough, have been critical about his administration.
Donald Trump’s rant on Mika Brzezinski triggered massive backlash, even from his fellow Republican lawmakers, as the New York Times noted. A report from the Washington Examiner added that numerous social media users have also reported Trump to Twitter, asking that the company ban his @realDonaldTrump account. Many users are also pointing out that Trump’s Twitter behavior should have gotten him banned a long time ago, had he been a regular user and not the President of the United States.
Like these users, DNC Deputy Chair Keith Ellison believes that it’s about time that Twitter got tough on the President and treated him like a normal person when it comes to abusive behavior on social media, having expressed these sentiments in an interview with TMZ .
“We have long known that Donald Trump abuses people on social media, much like any common social media bully. The problem is he’s been doing it, and he’s never had to pay the price for it.”
According to Ellison, he believes that a Trump Twitter ban is necessary so that the President can be treated like other social media users whose repeated instances of harassing behavior gets them axed from the microblogging platform.
“It’s a private company. He doesn’t have a right to a Twitter account. And if he’s mistreating, misusing it and (serially) abusing people, I don’t think he should have account.”
Ellison added that the Mika Brzezinski incident represents yet another time the President has used social media to go after women, hence another reason why a Trump Twitter ban should take place at some point in the future.
Dear @realDonaldTrump ,
I reported you to @Twitter for abusive / targeted harassment.
I invite all to do same. #MorningJoe cc @morningmika pic.twitter.com/XbYMGcgo46
— Alice St??llmeyer (@StollmeyerEU) June 29, 2017
As several publications, including the aforementioned New York Times , wrote, Brzezinski shook off Trump’s remarks by posting an image featuring a box of Cheerios with the words “Made for Little Hands,” a reference to how many people have poked fun at Trump supposedly having small hands. But on a more serious note, MSNBC issued a prepared statement condemning the President’s actions against one of its better-known television hosts.
“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.”
As of this writing, TMZ’s poll asking readers whether they are in favor of the Trump Twitter ban or not has 67 percent out of close to 1,268 users answering in the affirmative.
Do you agree with Keith Ellison’s statements that President Trump should be banned from Twitter?
[Featured Image by Scott Olson/Getty Images]