Is it time for Twitter to take down Trump’s tweets?

For Donald Trump, Twitter is like a feeding tube — nourishing him and the nation. His Twitter IV line seems a 24-hour-a-day necessity.

But rather than nourish and inform, the tweets have become a platform for insults, and some might argue, incitement.

This weekend the president managed to insult two NBA players and CNN’s Don Lemon in a tweet that followed the re-airing of a “CNN Tonight” interview that focused on LeBron James’ contributions to his hometown of Akron, Ohio, including to a new public school for at-risk third- and fourth-graders. James told Lemon that Trump has used athletics and athletes to divide the country. Trump shot back on Twitter, saying James had just been interviewed “by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon,” adding, “He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.”

Trump’s insult led Lemon to ask in a tweet Saturday morning: “Who’s the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?” Lemon added hashtag #BeBest, a reference to first lady Melania Trump’s initiative against bullying.

Twitter wars are commonplace in America but there is a point at which technology companies start pushing back against users.

For Twitter, the president’s use of its social media platform is becoming increasingly problematic. On the one hand, Trumpian tweets generate enormous revenue; on the other, the controversy over how to handle posts that lead to violence is growing. Critics point to early campaign tweets by Trump that could be construed as inciting hate and violence:

• “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously, OK? Just knock the hell . . . I promise you I will pay for the legal fees. I promise, I promise,” Trump said on Feb. 1, 2016.
• At a Las Vegas rally later that month, he said security guards were too gentle with a protester. “He’s walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing,” Trump said. “I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you.
• A similar situation unfolded at a rally that month in Warren, Michigan. “Get him out,” he said of a protester. “Try not to hurt him. If you do, I’ll defend you in court.”

For many months, Twitter has maintained official silence seeming to back the president’s use of its platform saying in January 2017 that “blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial tweets would hide important information people we should be able to see and debate,” adding that removing posts would not silence a world leader but “it would certainly hamper necessary discussion around their words and actions.”

More recently Twitter has reiterated a harder line policy saying it reserves the right to ban specific threats of violence and those wishing others “serious physical harm, death or disease to an individual or group of people.” But it also has an exemption for military and government entities.

Therein lies the problem. Deciding who is protected and who shall be held responsible for the consequences of his or her words is tricky business. But at a time when social media companies are purging themselves of suspicious content and hate speech, removing users from their rolls, and pointing fingers at Russia for sowing discord in our country, the president would be wise to reread the terms of service for Twitter and rethink his definition of public service. As for his millions of followers, they might also pause before retweeting.

Tara D. Sonenshine worked for ABC News and Newsweek. She served as U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs from 2012 to 2013, and currently advises students at The George Washington Elliott School of International Affairs.