While new boss Elon Muck may have delivered a breath of fresh air to Twitter, albeit briefly, giving conservatives somewhat of a reprieve from the suffocating censorship happening under the previous management, there are clear signs the rot runs deep and that it may take a long, long time to undo the damage.
Case in point: Twitter suspended the account of Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, for allegedly violating its media policy — after a sitting president is suspended, no one is off limits.
What terrible thing did Sen. Daines post? A profile image of him and his wife posing with a hunting trophy — a Montana antelope:
The Twitter account of Sen. Steve Daines, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is frozen because (per Twitter) it violates the company’s “Media Policy.” pic.twitter.com/ilkQYAI67D
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) February 7, 2023
Confusion appeared to reign at Twitter, as the account was suspended, then unsuspended, only to be suspended once again, according to Axios reporter Josh Kraushaar:
and wait, there's more…
minutes after the account being unsuspended, it was suspended again.
The saga continues.
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) February 7, 2023
Daines is not backing down amid all the hoopla over his being suspended Monday night — a #FreeSteveDaines hashtag has taken hold on the site.
“My wife is a great shot. What can I say?” Daines told Fox News Digital.
“The Senator thinks it’s preposterous that a picture of him and his wife hunting — an activity that is engrained in the Montana way of life — would be against Twitter rules. Our team has reached out to Twitter, and we’ll be working to get this resolved,” Rachel Dumke, press secretary for Daines, said in a statement to the network.
The NRSC is reportedly calling on Twitter to reverse the suspension, according to CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju:
Sen. Steve Daines’ office says he was suspended from Twitter because of the below profile pic showing him and his wife hunting. Spox for NRSC: “This is insane. Twitter should immediately reverse this suspension.” pic.twitter.com/EeZsUcWaFQ
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 7, 2023
Some of Daines’ GOP colleagues came to his defense, including Sens. Mike Lee, of Utah, and Ted Cruz, of Texas, who also quipped, “[Daines] told me he was aiming for the balloon, but hit an antelope instead.”
https://twitter.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1622955572214763522?s=20&t=YVK681pHeWxn4pipc6lW0A
Ridiculous. My friend @SteveDaines is in @Twitter jail for posting this pic w/ his wife Cindy.
If you don’t like hunting, fine, don’t go. But don’t censor others who disagree.
And I’m pretty sure this is a formal job responsibility for a senator from Montana!#FreeSteveDaines pic.twitter.com/t6VdYNYe5u
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 7, 2023
Here’s a quick sampling of other responses to the story from Twitter:
Free @SteveDaines! pic.twitter.com/YBSdZlO7D7
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) February 7, 2023
Twitter has ridiculously suspended Sen. @SteveDaines because his profile picture is of him and his wife hunting…What a disgrace! pic.twitter.com/vH9QohkwSc
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) February 7, 2023
.@elonmusk This is INSANE. I know you don’t control everything but @SteveDaines shouldn’t be suspended over this. Hunting is perfectly legal in the US. Hunters, like anglers, fund > 60% of conservation funding in this country. Daines’ pic is tasteful and not graphic. https://t.co/4uFckK4smk
— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) February 7, 2023
Suspending Senator @SteveDaines account because he posed with his wife after harvesting a ruminant mammal is stupid. What’s next? Banning people for posing with a Thanksgiving Turkey? Or a trophy trout? @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/mvMarmTUuY
— @amuse (@amuse) February 7, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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