Trump Shuts Down His Personal Blog
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Former president Donald Trump’s webpage, which has served as his primary means of communication with the public since he was banned by the major social media companies, has been deleted, his spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
The blog, titled “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump,” has been permanently shut down and “will not be returning,” senior aide Jason Miller told CNBC.
“It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on,” Miller commented in email correspondence. He suggested that the discontinuation of the page is involved with grander plans the former president’s team is working on.
Trump launched the alternative communication channel after he was suspended from Facebook and Twitter following the Capitol riot incident on January 6. The tech platforms accused Trump of using his platform to incite an angry mob of his supporters to storm Capitol Hill after the 2020 election certification, which he called illegitimate. Trump claimed that the election outcome was skewed by widespread voter fraud in multiple swing states, and urged his followers to demand accountability in the ballot counting processes.
Last week, Facebook’s independent oversight board kicked the final determination regarding Trump’s permanent ban back to the company, allowing the ban to remain temporarily but urging the company to release a more coherent justification for barring the former president for life.
Republican lawmakers and Trump have mounted campaigns to counter the targeting of conservative thought by tech companies, alleging that they’re suppressing the free speech of millions of people. Following his election loss, Trump promised to provide another avenue for conservatives disenfranchised by social media censorship.
His “Desk” blog, Miller said when it launched, was “a great resource” to find Trump’s statements but would not serve as a “new social media platform.”
Miller did not specify Wednesday what Trump intends to do instead of using his own independent page. The site includes a fundraising page, online storefront, and his personal statements.
