Trump meets with Twitter’s CEO

by Harper Neidig - 04/23/19 4:31 PM ET

President Trump met Tuesday 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 the president lashed out at Twitter, reiterating his allegations that the company is discriminating against him and other conservatives.

“Very discriminatory, hard for people to sign on. Constantly taking people off list. Big complaints from many people. Different names-over 100 [million]. But should be much higher than that if Twitter wasn’t playing their political games,” Trump wrote Tuesday morning in a pair of tweets.

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

{mosads}After the meeting with Dorsey, however, Trump wasn’t in a critical mood and described the meeting as “great.”

“Lots of subjects discussed regarding their platform, and the world of social media in general. Look forward to keeping an open dialogue!” Trump wrote in a tweet.

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 ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections and efforts underway to respond to the opioid crisis.”

The meeting was not listed on the president’s schedule.

It came on the same day that Twitter posted quarterly earnings that beat expectations, sending its shares up 16 percent by closing on Tuesday.

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.”

“As you know, I believe that conversation, not silence, bridges gaps and drives towards solutions,” Dorsey wrote in one of the emails. “I have met with every world leader who has extended an invitation to me, and I believe the discussions have been productive, and the outcomes meaningful.”

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.”

And in March, Trump met with Google CEO Sundar Pichai to discuss, among other issues, “political fairness.”

—Updated at 5:35 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Social media Twitter