NEW YORK TIMES."
AND MSNBC’S DYLAN BIERS, AUTHOR
OF "BIERS MARKET NEWSLETTER."
ARE WE REALLY GOING TO FALL FOR
THIS ENTIRELY PREDICTABLE TWEET
FROM THE PRESIDENT, THE THUG
TWEET?
ISN’T THIS TO SOW DISCORD AND
THE FACT THERE ARE MORE THAN
100,000 PEOPLE DEAD, THE
INFECTION RATE IS NOT DECREASING
AND MORE THAN 40 MILLION PEOPLE
ARE ON UNEMPLOYMENT?
>> YEAH, I THINK DISTRACTION IS
PART OF HIS GAME FOR A LONG
TIME.
IT’S NOT A NEW AND FRESH THING
THAT’S HAPPENING.
IN THIS CASE, HE’S TRYING TO
WRAP HIMSELF IN THE FIRST
AMENDMENT BY ISSUING EXECUTIVE
ORDERS WITH A LOT OF WORDS IN
THEM BUT NOT A LOT OF LAW.
AND NOW THE OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE
TWITTER HANDLE IS NOW BEING USED
TO TROLL TWITTER ESSENTIALLY.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT’S A LOT OF GAME
PLAYING WHEN THIS IS A VERY
SERIOUS SITUATION IN MINNESOTA
AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND, OF
COURSE, AROUND CORONAVIRUS.
>> DYLAN, THIS MORNING, DAN
SCAVINO IS SAYING TWITTER IS
FULL OF IT.
IF TWITTER SUCKS SO BAD, WHY
DON’T THEY JUST STOP USING IT?
THIS IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES.
HE HAS EVERY POSSIBLE OUTLET HE
COULD DREAM OF TO GET HIS
MESSAGE OUT THERE AND HE’S
WELCOME TO SIT DOWN FOR AN
INTERVIEW EVERY DAY.
JUST STOP TWEETING.
>> STEPHANIE, THERE’S NO
PLATFORM THAT TRUMP HAS
LEVERAGED MORE TO DRIVE THE
POLITICAL CONVERSATION THAN
TWITTER, BROADENING OUT TO
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES
GENERALLY.
HE RELIES HEAVILY ON FACEBOOK
AND YOUTUBE FOR ADVERTISING.
THE NOTION THAT HE WOULD JUST
LIKE TO SHUT DOWN TWITTER, THAT
HE WOULD STOP USING TWITTER IS,
OBVIOUSLY, FARCICAL.
AND I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT
KARA SAID.
THE PRESIDENT IS TROLLING
TWITTER AND PICKING A FIGHT WITH
TWITTER THAT IS ENTIRELY ABOUT
POLITICAL THEATER.
ALMOST CERTAINLY NOTHING IS
GOING TO COME OF THIS EXECUTIVE
ORDER IN LIGHT OF THE FACT IT
MAY NOT EVEN BE LEGAL.
AND IF YOU GET INTO THE
LANGUAGE, IT’S LARGELY
TOOTHLESS.
WHEN YOU HAVE A PANDEMIC WHERE
MORE THAN 100,000 AMERICANS HAVE
DIED AND THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN
RAVAGED AND PEOPLE ARE LOSING
THEIR JOBS AND A LOT OF THAT IS
ON YOU, IT IS MUCH EASIER TO
PICK A FIGHT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
COMPANIES.
IN FACT, YOU KNOW WE HAVE EVEN
SOME NEW REPORTING THIS MORNING
ON USING THE WHITE HOUSE ACCOUNT
TO BASICALLY TWEET THE SAME
THING TRUMP TWEETED EARLIER
ABOUT LOOTING AND SHOOTING.
WE TALKED TO TWITTER ABOUT THAT.
THEY ARE CURRENTLY REVIEWING IT,
AND THEY ARE LIKELY TO PLACE THE
SAME LABEL ON THAT TWEET THAT
THEY DID ON THE TWEET FROM THE
PRESIDENT.
SO WE’RE BASICALLY GOING TO SEE
THIS GAME WHERE THE FOCUS OF THE
CONVERSATION SHIFTS FROM WHAT WE
SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT, AND
WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH
IS CORONAVIRUS, WHAT’S HAPPENING
IN MINNEAPOLIS, AND WE’LL SEE
MORE AND MORE TIME SPENT ON THIS
TENSION BETWEEN TRUMP AND
TWITTER THAT IS LARGELY JUST
POLITICAL THEATER.
>> LET’S PRETEND THIS EXECUTIVE
ORDER WASN’T TUTHOOTHLESS.
LET’S PRETEND TWITTER, FACEBOOK
WERE REGULATED, THERE WERE
ISSUES OF LIABILITY.
WOULDN’T THAT COME RIGHT BACK TO
BITE THE PRESIDENT?
>> WELL, THE QUESTION OF
LIABILITY IS TWO DIFFERENT
THINGS.
THAT’S THE PROBLEM.
THIS IS ALL BEING CONFLATED
TOGETHER.
THERE’S THIRD PARTY LIABILITY ON
THE PLATFORM.
AND THEN THERE’S THIS.
NOW IF THEY WANT TO SUE TWITTER,
THEY MAY NOT HAVE IMMUNITY FOR
PUTTING THESE TAGS ON, BY THE
WAY, BUT THEY CAN SUE TWITTER.
THE PRESIDENT CAN SUE TWITTER
AND SAY THAT THIS IS LIBEL.
WHAT THEY ARE DOING.
AND THEN HE’D LOSE BECAUSE IT’S
FACTUALLY CORRECT.
YOU WIN WHEN IT’S FACTUALLY
CORRECT.
SO A LOT OF THINGS ARE
CONFLATING HERE IN ORDER TO MAKE
IT SIMPLISTIC, INCLUDING NOT
UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE FIRST
AMENDMENT SAYS.
AND THE PRESIDENT PROMISED TO
PRESERVE
PRESERVE, PROTECT AND DEFEND THE
CONSTITUTION.
HE SHOULD READ IT.
CONGRESS SHALL MAKE LAWS.
FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND FROM LOTS
OF LEGAL, VERY SMART LEGAL
PEOPLE IS THAT YOU CAN’T DO IT
THIS WAY.
OF COURSE, CONGRESS COULD DO
THIS.
THEY COULD LOOK AT SECTION 230.
THEY CAN DO A LOT OF THINGS BUT
THAT’S THE PROCESS OF THIS.
AND THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE HERE
IS THAT YOU CAN’T JUST SAY, I
DON’T LIKE IT.
I’M GOING TO DO AN EXECUTIVE
ORDER.
AND IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK HERE.
THERE’S SO MUCH CASE LAW.
THERE’S SO MUCH -- THERE’S SO
MUCH THAT NEEDS TO GO THROUGH IT
BEFORE 230 IS CHALLENGED.
SO WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
BUT THIS IS JUST A GAME.
THIS IS JUST A RIDICULOUS GAME.
IT’S A WASTE OF TIME IN THE
MIDDLE OF A CRISIS.
WE DON’T JUST HAVE THE
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS.
WE HAVE THIS TERRIBLE SITUATION