Trump loses fight to block critics on Twitter account
President Donald Trump lost a Twitter fight Tuesday when a federal appeals court said that his daily musings and pronouncements were overwhelmingly official in nature and that he violated the First Amendment whenever he blocked a critic to silence a viewpoint.
The effect of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision is likely to reverberate throughout politics after the Manhattan court warned that any elected official using a social media account “for all manner of official purposes” and then excluding critics violates free speech.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump gave a warm White House welcome Tuesday to the leader of Qatar amid a bitter rift between the tiny, energy-rich nation and its fellow American allies in the Persian Gulf and rising tensions withiran.
Trump clasped hands with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and called him a friend while recognizing the country’s extensive military partnership with the U.S. and billions of dollars in purchases from American companies.
“They are investing very heavily in our country,” Trump said. “They’re creating lots of jobs. They’re buying tremendous amounts of military equipment, including planes.”
Five commercial agreements were signed. Qatar Airways is buying five Boeing 777 Freighters and large-cabin aircraft from Gulfstream Aerospace and plans to use General Electric Co. jet engines to power its Boeing aircraft.
The White House also said the Qatari defense ministry will buy a missile defense system from Raytheon. In addition, Chevron Phillips Chemical and Qatar Petroleum have agreed to jointly develop a $8 billion petrochemical plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The price tags on the other deals — including some that have been previously announced — were not disclosed, but those familiar with the transactions said they totaled tens of billions of dollars.
Four Arab nations that are friendly with the United States — Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have boycotted Qatar, claiming it supports extremist groups in the region.
In the past, Trump also has accused Doha of funding terror groups. Qatar denies the charges and at a Monday night dinner for the Qatari delegation, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin praised the emir for his help in combatting terrorist financing.
Efforts by the U.S. and Western powers to mend the split largely have gone nowhere.
Meanwhile, Iran, which is chafing under U.S. economic sanctions, has begun enriching uranium in violation of a 2015 nuclear deal. The deal has been unraveling since Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement. Finding ways to counter Iran will be a priority when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with the emir on Wednesday.