There are plenty of unprecedented things about the political career of Donald Trump, and one of them is that he is an extensive, voluble Twitter user, to the point where during the campaign his staff took his account away. And, as he transitions into the office of the President, somebody is taking the step of insulating the President from anybody on Twitter who was mean to him.
Mashable is tracking reports that Trump, or at least a staffer with access to his Twitter account, is going through and blocking anybody who isn’t chiming in with support of the President-Elect. The earliest tweets date from around Election Day, and extend throughout the month. As you can’t see anybody’s block list but your own, it’s not clear or how deep the list goes, but it’s such a problem the New York Times has contrasting opinion columns on it.
This is literally nothing more than a symbolic move. Trump’s Twitter account is fully public and easily accessible just by logging out and punching in the web address in any browser. On the other hand, the symbolism of that move is worth looking at. Trump, in theory, represents all Americans and has a moral, if not legal, obligation to at least listen to what those Americans have to say, whether he wants to hear it or not. It’s certain that blocking users on Twitter sends a message. The question, however, is if Trump realizes what message he’s sending.
By the way, this appears to be the general response to a Trump block.
https://twitter.com/Dtrainis1/status/796136004671258624
(via Mashable)