Foreign Affairs

Merkel Thinks Twitter’s Trump Ban Is ‘Problematic,’ According To Spokesperson

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman said Merkel thinks Twitter’s ban on President Donald Trump’s accounts is “problematic,” The Associated Press reported Monday.

Steffen Seibert, Merkel’s spokesman, told reporters in Berlin that freedom of opinion is an intrinsic right carrying “elementary significance,” according to the AP.

“This fundamental right can be intervened in, but according to the law and within the framework defined by legislators — not according to a decision by the management of social media platforms,” Seibert continued. “Seen from this angle, the chancellor considers it problematic that the accounts of the U.S. president have now been permanently blocked.”

Twitter announced last week that they had banned Trump’s account for good after they previously suspended his account temporarily.

Seibert said it was correct to not “stand back” on the occasions the content he described is posted, such as tweets getting flagged, the AP reported.

Rioters breached the Capitol building Wednesday amidst a march in protest against the Electoral College’s certification of the presidential election results, with the demonstration turning into a deadly riot.

Merkel denounced the riot during a video from DW News on Jan. 7., saying, “These images made me furious and also sad, and I’m quite sure I feel like most friends of the United States, like millions of people who admire America’s democratic tradition.”

Merkel expressed her “regret” that Trump wouldn’t concede the election both on Wednesday and since the election during the video.

“I regret very much that President Trump since November has not conceded his defeat, and not yesterday either.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says outgoing US President Donald Trump created an atmosphere that made the attack on the US Capitol possible. pic.twitter.com/W40noCCyK9

— DW News (@dwnews) January 7, 2021

“Doubts about the outcome of the election were stoked, and that set the atmosphere that made the night’s events possible. The words of President-elect Joe Biden and many of the reactions from both major parties in the U.S. make me certain that this democracy will prove to be much stronger than the attackers and rioters,” Merkel said during the video.