President Trump met today at the White House with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who leads the social media platform used and criticized by the commander in chief.
The meeting came just hours after Trump lashed out at Twitter, reiterating his allegations that the company is discriminating against him and other conservatives.
“The best thing ever to happen to Twitter is Donald Trump.” @MariaBartiromo So true, but they don’t treat me well as a Republican. Very discriminatory, hard for people to sign on. Constantly taking people off list. Big complaints from many people. Different names-over 100 M…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019
…..But should be much higher than that if Twitter wasn’t playing their political games. No wonder Congress wants to get involved – and they should. Must be more, and fairer, companies to get out the WORD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019
Dorsey must have said some things Trump wanted to hear, however, as he wasn’t in a critical mood and described the meeting as “great.”
Great meeting this afternoon at the @WhiteHouse with @Jack from @Twitter. Lots of subjects discussed regarding their platform, and the world of social media in general. Look forward to keeping an open dialogue! pic.twitter.com/QnZi579eFb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019
A spokesperson for Twitter added in a statement, “Jack had a constructive meeting with the President of the United States today at the president’s invitation. They discussed Twitter’s commitment to protecting the health of the public conversation.”
It came on the same day that Twitter posted quarterly earnings that beat expectations, sending its shares up 16 percent by closing today.
[Trump Goes On Unbelievable Early Morning Twitter Rampage]
Motherboard, which first reported the meeting, obtained internal Twitter emails that said the White House had extended an invitation to Dorsey, that the meeting would last about 30 minutes and that it would focus on “the health of the public conversation on Twitter.”
Which is exactly what the Twitter spokesperson repeated.
Conservatives have been criticizing Twitter, arguing it discriminates against people on the right, who have said they are more likely to be punished by social media companies for their comments.
There’s little evidence to support the allegations that conservatives are being systemically suppressed, and social media companies have denied that politics play a role in their efforts to moderate their platforms.
Still, Trump and the rest of the GOP have repeatedly raised their grievances with tech leaders.
Earlier this month, Facebook and Twitter both testified before a Senate Judiciary hearing on social media “censorship.”