Trump set to return to social media as Meta lifts ban
Donald Trump celebrated his return to Facebook and Instagram on Wednesday after parent company Meta announced its decision to reinstate the former president’s accounts in the “coming weeks”.
In a statement on Truth Social – where he described himself as the “favorite president” despite failing to be elected to a second term – Mr Trump claimed that “such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution”.
Mr Trump was banned from the platforms for two years in the wake of the attacks on the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021, fuelled by his baseless narrative that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, announced on Wednesday that he can return to the platforms but that there will be new guard rails put in place to “deter repeat offences”.
The former president’s transportation secretary Elaine Chao, meanwhile, has issued a rare public rebuke after enduring the former president’s racist remarks targeting her and her husband, Mr Trump’s GOP rival Mitch McConnell.
ICYMI: Trump orders House ‘weaponisation’ panel to probe his grievances in video rant
In a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump called a new GOP-controlled House Judicary subommittee, which will be chaired by Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, a “rare chance to expose the breathtaking corruption of the security state, the media and the Washington swamp”.
He then launched into a list of “questions” which the panel should “hopefully … be asking”.
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 09:00
Elaine Chao: Trump’s attacks say ‘a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans”
For months, the former president has unleashed a string of thinly veiled racist comments about his former transportation secretary, the wife of his party’s Senate leader, to relative silence from other GOP officials.
Days after his latest abuse, Elaine Chao issued a rare rebuke of her former boss:
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 08:00
Here’s how George Santos could still be removed from office
The Independent’s John Bowden explains how a wave of ethics complaints and mounting legal issues could complicate things for embattled congressman George Santos:
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 07:00
ICYMI: National Archives asks former presidents to double check for unauthorised records
The National Archives and Records Administration has asked representatives of former presidents and vice presidents dating back to the Reagan administration to search their personal papers and collections for any records that should have been deposited with the Archives under the Presidential Records Act.
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington:
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 06:00
Trump pilloried as ‘4-year-old cheat’ over golf tournament claims: ‘Guy can’t even con right anymore’
Sportswriter and author Rick Reilly has criticised Donald Trump as a “cheat” after the golf-loving former president claimed victory in a competitive tournament earlier this week – despite missing the first day.
It’s not the first time that the former Sports Illustrated journalist has accused rump of cheating. He had made similar claims in his book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump.
“To say ‘Donald Trump cheats’ is like saying ‘Michael Phelps swims’,” he wrote in his 2019 book.
“He cheats at the highest level. He cheats when people are watching and he cheats when they aren’t. He cheats whether you like it or not. He cheats because that’s how he plays golf … if you’re playing golf with him, he’s going to cheat,” he wrote.
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 05:00
ICYMI: Trump invokes another racist attack on his transportation secretary, baselessly linking her to Biden documents
Elaine Chao issued a rare rebuke against the former president this week after his latest attack, which baselessly roped her into allegations involving Joe Biden’s classified documents case.
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 04:00
Meta lays out special rules that will apply to Donald Trump when he returns to Facebook and Instagram
When, or if, Donald Trump returns to Facebook or Instagram, he will be held to new “guardrails” that are intended to stop him acting the same way in the future.
What’s more, those rules will also be applied to other public figures.
They were announced in a blog post by Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg.
He said the former president would be subject to Facebook and Instagram’s Community Standards in the same way that any other user of the site would be. In the past, Meta and other social media platforms have been accused of treating public figures and lucrative users of the site differently from normal users.
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 03:00
Classified documents found in Pence’s home include briefings for foreign trips: report
Background briefings prepared for Mike Pence’s official international tours were reportedly among the 12 classified documents recovered from the former vice president home.
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 02:00
ICYMI: Trump rages against ‘Radical Left’ AT&T over ‘disgraceful’ move to drop Newsmax
On Wednesday, US telecoms giant AT&T announced that it would be dropping Newsmax from its DirecTV service, just as it had previously ditched conspiracy theory-promoting right-wing network One America News.
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 01:00
Eric Garcia: Why Adam Schiff and Katie Porter won’t wait for Feinstein as they jump into California’s Senate race
After Adam Schiff announced his entry into the California Senate race to replace Dianne Feinstein, The Independent’s Washington chief Eric Garcia writes that while the state has become a hotbed for anti-Trump sentiment, voters might want be looking for a more pugnacious Democrat:
Alex Woodward27 January 2023 00:00
Read More:Donald Trump news today: Trump celebrates return to Facebook as Elaine Chao condemns his racist attacks
2023-01-27 11:52:20
