Democrats Call for Twitter To Remove Pelosi Video Posted by Trump
Multiple Democratic lawmakers are calling for Twitter to take down a video President Donald Trump posted on Thursday of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripping up his State of the Union address, arguing it misleads viewers.
The video, titled, “Powerful American Stories Ripped to Shreds By Nancy Pelosi,” was pinned to the top of Trump’s Twitter feed as of Saturday.
The compilation shows the president honoring various Americans who were seated in the House of Representatives gallery intercut with footage of Pelosi ripping up the formal paper copy of Trump’s remarks, which she did at the conclusion of the State of the Union on Tuesday night.
Some of the American stories Trump shared, featured in the Twitter video, included those of Brigadier General Charles McGee, one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War; as well as the widow and 13-year-old son of Army Staff Sergeant Christopher Hake, who was killed in 2008 by a roadside bomb near Baghdad.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2020
The president also informed Janiyah Davis, a fourth-grader from Philadelphia, and her mom, Stephanie, that Janiyah would be receiving an opportunity scholarship to go to the school of her choice.
After each of these stories, footage of Pelosi ripping up the State of the Union speech appeared.
Trump went on to highlight the record low unemployment rates for African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, veterans and Americans with disabilities.
After Trump lists these economic achievements, Pelosi is again seen in the video ripping up his address.
Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, said Friday the “latest fake video of Speaker Pelosi is deliberately designed to mislead and lie to the American people,” according to The Hill.
“The American people know that the President has no qualms about lying to them — but it is a shame to see Twitter and Facebook, sources of news for millions, do the same.”
“Every day that these platforms refuse to take it down is another reminder that they care more about their shareholders’ interests than the public’s interests,” Hammill said.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who represents Silicon Valley, tweeted, “.@Twitter must take this misleading video about @SpeakerPelosi down now. Social media platforms are a place where people come for news & information. They need to have certain standards. Falsity has never been part of our 1st Amendment tradition.”
.@Twitter must take this misleading video about @SpeakerPelosi down now.
Social media platforms are a place where people come for news & information.
They need to have certain standards.
Falsity has never been part of our 1st Amendment tradition. https://t.co/dwiDeKNd3D
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) February 7, 2020
“This video is clearly another deceptive effort by @realDonaldTrump to mislead and manipulate the American people,” added Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas. “Hey [Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey], show your commitment to cut down on the misinformation corroding our nation and take down this fake video.”
This video is clearly another deceptive effort by @realDonaldTrump to mislead and manipulate the American people.
Hey @jack, show your commitment to cut down on the misinformation corroding our nation and take down this fake video. https://t.co/C2uAFPfWzL
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) February 7, 2020
Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, who oversees House Democrats’ messaging, tweeted, “Hey@Twitter, this video is clearly edited in a way that’s intended to mislead viewers. You should take it down.”
Hey @Twitter, this video is clearly edited in a way that’s intended to mislead viewers. You should take it down. https://t.co/agXJlvRirf
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) February 7, 2020
Twitter announced new rules governing media manipulation earlier this week, which provide for the possible removal of videos when, among other instances, “the content has been substantially edited in a manner that fundamentally alters its composition, sequence, timing, or framing.”
House Republicans, meanwhile, offered a resolution on Wednesday calling for Pelosi to be censured for ripping up Trump’s speech.
The resolution, which was introduced by GOP Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, referenced the various Americans the speaker dishonored by her act, which included those in Trump’s video, as well as humanitarian worker and Prescott, Arizona native Kayla Mueller, who was captured and enslaved by the Islamic State group and then reportedly murdered at the direction of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Mueller’s parents were on hand for the State of the Union address as the president noted the U.S. Special Forces operators who conducted the raid that ended al-Baghdadi’s life were part of “Task Force 8-14,” named for Kayla’s birthday.
Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona, who co-sponsored Granger’s resolution, said in a statement to The Western Journal, “The House deserves better and the people deserve better than a speaker who would stoop to such lows.”
“Nancy Pelosi’s actions were petty and demonstrate how the Democrats can’t handle the successes of this President and our country,” Lesko said.
Fox News reported Democrats voted on Thursday to table the resolution to censure the speaker, effectively killing the measure.
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