Donald Trump’s social media addiction could be his downfall – It’s no mystery to anyone how much of a rabid user and consumer of social media former president Donald Trump is.
During his tenure as president, Trump was constantly on social media platform Twitter (now called “X”), sending out dozens of tweets every day to his millions of followers.
But he was booted off the platform in the aftermath of the January 6 protests in the Capitol, forcing him to retreat to a platform he owns, Truth Social, where he continues to post “truths” – the platform’s term for posts – to millions of followers, albeit much less than what he had on Twitter.
Trump has since been reinstated on Twitter following tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, but the former commander-in-chief has only graced his account a few times. The first was to tweet his mugshot of when he was booked for his indictment in Georgia, and to promote his Twitter/X-exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson.
Donald Trump’s Social Media Problem, Explained
However, one former attorney for the former chief executive has warned that Trump’s social media addiction could cause much deeper legal problems for the former president.
Ty Cobb, currently a partner at the law firm Hogan Lovells, said that jail time is a serious and possible consequence Trump might face if he continues with his online tirades.
Trump is already facing multiple gag orders from the courts handling his various cases and indictments, primarily over threats and insults he has hurled against agents of the court and witnesses in his cases.
He has been fined twice for violating such an order in his New York fraud trial, with Justice Arthur Engoron threatening to jail Trump if he continues his online tirades.
“In the current overheated climate, incendiary comments can and in some cases already (have), led to serious physical harm and worse,” Judge Engoron said. Trump was fined $5,000 for “blatantly” violating the gag order, with the money “payable to the New York Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection.”
Trump had claimed on Truth Social that Allison Greenfield, who serves as principal law clerk for Judge Engoron, was dating Senator Chuck Schumer.
He also doxed Greenfield’s Instagram account, causing hundreds of far-right supporters to flock to her account and post all sorts of vitriol against her.
Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over Trump’s federal indictment involving his alleged attempt to alter the results of the 2020 presidential elections, also imposed a gag order of her own against the former president. In her order, Judge Chutkan argued that the First Amendment protections on Trump’s statements are secondary to the “administration of justice”, further stating that Trump’s presidential candidacy does not give him “carte blanche” to malign and denigrate public servants “who are simply doing their job.”
“I think she’ll come in with a much heavier penalty and, ultimately, he’ll spend a night or a weekend in jail,” Cobb said of Chutkan and the judge’s growing anger towards Trump’s belligerent online behavior and repeated violation of his gag orders. “I think it’ll take that (jail time) to stop it,” Cobb added.
The former chief executive also has another gag order, this time from Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee, who presides over Trump’s Georgia state indictment over alleged attempts to tamper with the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
Tim Ramos has written for various publications, corporations, and organizations – covering everything from finance, politics, travel, entertainment, and sports – in Asia and the U.S. for more than 10 years.