The chief financial officer of the popular social media platform Twitter said that former President Donald Trump is permanently banned from their service, even if he runs for president again.
Ned Segal made the comments on “Squawk Box” on CNBC Wednesday while defending the company’s profitability post-Trump.
“So the way our policies work, when you are removed from the platform, you are removed from the platform. Whether you are a commentator, you’re a CFO, or you are a former or current public official,” said Segal.
“Remember, our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence. And if anybody does that, we have to remove them from the service. And our policies don’t allow people to come back,” he added.
Twitter has faced criticism for banning the former president days after the rioting at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. While some have accused them of a politically motivated abrogation of Trump’s free speech, the company said that the situation at the Capitol forced them to take action.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey argued on Tuesday that Twitter’s bottom line would not be damaged after banning one of the most consequential and influential voices on social media.
“We’re a platform that is obviously much larger than any one topic or any one account,” said Dorsey during the company’s earnings call.
Dorsey said that 80% of the users of the platform were located outside of the United States.
“We have a global service. We are also not just dependent upon just news and politics being what drives Twitter,” Dorsey added.
Twitter’s rationale for banning Trump permanently is almost identical to the claim made in the article of impeachment passed by House Democrats that he incited an insurrection on Jan. 6 at the Capitol.
On Tuesday, attorneys representing Trump argued at his Senate impeachment trial that the proceedings were unconstitutional because of a lack of due process in the House of Representatives. The Senate denied those arguments and voted to continue the trial against Trump.
Twitter’s stock has climbed by 31.6% since they banned Trump days after the Capitol rioting.
Here are the comments from Twitter’s CFO:
Donald Trump not allowed back on Twitter if he ran for office again: CFO
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