Twitter CEO on Trump tweets: ‘Complicated’
Dorsey says presidentelect’s maverick use of social media is unprecedented
How does Jack Dorsey feel about President-elect Donald Trump communicating with the world in 140 characters or less?
“Complicated,” the Twitter CEO said at Recode’s Code Commerce conference Tuesday.
Trump waged the presidential campaign on Twitter and now, as the incoming commander in chief, he’s using that digital bully pulpit to push his agenda, making claims about millions of illegal votes, hinting he may ban flag burning and criticizing Boeing over the high cost of a new Air Force One.
“What does this mean to have a direct line to how he’s thinking in real time? I’m not sure,” Dorsey said. “We certainly play a big part in distributing news and opinions and what people think about what’s going on in the world. And you know we have a role and a responsibility to make sure people are seeing what they need to see and they can have easy conversations and really get to the truth. And that’s complicated. We are learning as quickly as we can.” Dorsey, who is one of the cofounders of the social media service, said Trump’s maverick use of Twitter is unprecedented. That has put the spotlight on Twitter — and has clearly prompted some introspection.
“I think it’s an important time for the company and the service, and having the president-elect on our service using it as a direct line of communication allows everyone to see what’s on his mind, in the moment, I think that’s interesting,” he said.
But when asked if he feels responsible for Trump being elected president, Dorsey replied: “America is responsible for Donald Trump being president.”