After being banned from Facebook and Twitter following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building, Donald Trump will reportedly sue the CEOs of both social media platforms in a class-action lawsuit. The former president is scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday morning where he’ll announce his legal action against both Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey. Via Axios:
Trump’s legal effort is supported by the America First Policy Institute, a non-profit focused on perpetuating Trump’s policies. The group’s president and CEO and board chair, former Trump officials Linda McMahon and Brooke Rollins, will accompany him during the announcement. Class action lawsuits would enable him to sue the two tech CEOs on behalf of a broader group of people that he argues have been censored by biased policies.
As Axios notes, Trump will argue that Facebook and Twitter’s policies are “biased” against conservatives even though there has never been evidence to support this claim. More importantly, Trump has a history of announcing lawsuits that he never follows through on, which is believed to be the case here and the overwhelming consensus from journalists. Not to mention, any type of pre-trial discovery into Trump’s involvement with the failed January 6 coup will surely end badly for him.
The only acceptable Trump headline today is: "Disgraced one-term former president who fomented an insurrection and has a long history of threatening lawsuits then never following through because discovery would destroy him announces a new lawsuit he won't follow through on."
— Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) July 7, 2021
Assuming the lawsuit advances (which is a big if), Trump will have to give sworn testimony about January 6 https://t.co/olegHBbqQN
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) July 7, 2021
Why Trump just wants a PR and fundraising moment, not a real lawsuit.
1) possibility of sworn depositions and discovery involving him and his closest aides/family
2) depending on claims alleged, potential anti-SLAPP damages in counterclaims
3) he’ll almost certainly lose
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) July 7, 2021
Trump is suing FB & Twitter bc he’s afraid of the Jan 6 evidence. He’s kicked off those platforms for inciting the insurrection. He wants to hit back at them bc being banned contributes to the validation of his guilt. A lawsuit will further expose his role, if he follows through.
— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) July 7, 2021
With the news that Donald Trump *claims* he is suing Facebook and Twitter, it's a good time to remember his long history of lying AND revealing his true nature during depositions. Here's a confidential video I obtained last year. https://t.co/71cWZOgwL0
— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) July 7, 2021
In addition to doubts that Trump will follow through on his lawsuit, or be successful if he actually does go through with it, the pending legal action doesn’t make Parler or its newly born cousin GETTR look all that great. If those platforms were reaching a sizable audience, Trump would be on them. Instead, he’s suing to get back on Facebook and Twitter despite repeated accusations that both platforms “censor” conservatives.
https://twitter.com/cbouzy/status/1412601971354243073
The fact that Trump is announcing he is suing Facebook and Twitter is not such a ringing endorsement for Jason Miller's GETTR social media site.
— Mr. Newberger (@jeremynewberger) July 7, 2021