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Trump's Remarks in a Discussion with State Attorneys General on Social Media; 09-23-20
REMARKS
Remarks by President Trump in a Discussion with State Attorneys General on Protecting Consumers from Social Media Abuses
INFRASTRUCTURE & TECHNOLOGY
Issued on: September 23, 2020
Cabinet Room
3:06 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. And we’re here today to discuss protecting Americans from censorship, cancel culture, and consumer abuses inflicted by big tech companies. As President, I’m committed to defending the freedom of speech, and you know what’s been going on. And we have some very brilliant people in this room, and they’ve been looking at it for a while.
We’re joined by Attorney General Bill Barr; Senator Josh Hawley; State Attorneys General Ken Paxton of Texas, Mark Brnovich of Arizona, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Alan Wilson of South Carolina, Sean Reyes of Utah, Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas, and Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia. That’s a very talented group of people, I have to say, to have you all in one room. We appreciate it.
In recent years, a small group of powerful technology platforms have tightened their grip over commerce and communications in America. They’ve used this power to engage in unscrupulous business practices while simultaneously waging war on free enterprise and free expression.
At the urging of the radical left, these platforms have become intolerant of diverse political views and abusive toward their own users. And I think we could say as abusive as you could possibly be, in some cases. Right, Josh? You’ve seen that.
For example, Twitter routinely restricts posts expressing conservative views, even from a President of the United States, while at the same time it allows Iran’s Supreme Leader to freely spew vile, anti-Semitic hate and even death threats.
Every year, countless Americans are banned, blacklisted, and silenced through arbitrary or malicious enforcement of ever-shifting rules. Some platforms exploit their power, acquire vast sums of personal data without consent, or rig their terms of service to coerce, mislead, or defraud. And we’ve seen it so many times.
{snip}
I’d like to ask the Attorney General to say a few words. Bill, please.
ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: Thank you, Mr. President, for convening this roundtable. And it’s a pleasure to have this opportunity to meet with all my colleagues and state attorneys general and Senator Hawley.
{snip}
And under the President’s leadership, this administration has committed to addressing potential abuses of online platforms in a number of important ways.
{snip}
STATE ATTORNEY PAXTON: And, Attorney General Barr, I appreciate the work we’re doing in this investigation of Google.
You know, one of the reasons that we were so interested in this is really what you said, Senator Hawley, is that, you know, we’re at this point where we have these corporations that have tremendous power. And if we don’t step up to the plate now and take a look at what they’re doing and how they’re doing it, we may never stop it. It may be just unstoppable. Some of them are — they’re really larger than countries and more powerful than countries. And they know more about people than we know about ourselves, which is a little scary.
So I appreciate the attorney generals that are working on our case now and that are going forward with other issues. And I think this relationship that we’ve had with the Department of Justice under you has been just amazing. And I’m really appreciative of it because I think, together — and it takes us together to take on some of the forces that we’re dealing with. So thank you very much.
ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: Thank you, Ken.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think we can say that we’re watching them very closely during this election cycle. They’re being watched and scrutinized very, very closely by everybody at this table. And far beyond this table, a lot of people are watching. And we’re going to just see. I mean, we see so many things that are unfair.
But this is big time. And we’ll let you know. We’re going to let you know. But it’s very serious. Very bad. Very serious.
{snip}
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL MORRISEY: Mr. President, I have a story that I think you’ll enjoy. When you were being criticized by Twitter, related to absentee ballots, that very same day, we concluded an investigation of West Virginia, which affirmed a lot of the very things you were saying.
THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) Everything.
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL MORRISEY: So that type of issue is an example of what can happen when you have these social media companies run amok. And there needs to be accountability. There needs to be an advancement of the First Amendment.
But I thought you’d appreciate the irony of that very day. That person is going to go to jail now. And, meanwhile, Twitter continues to engage and pretend that what’s true is not.
THE PRESIDENT: The whole thing with your balloting and what’s going on with balloting will prove to be one of the great catastrophes in the history of our country, even beyond elections. And the Democrats know it. They know what’s going on. They know how it’s going on; who is getting it; who is sending it; where is it going; where is it going back; where is it coming from; are mailmen involved; who’s delivering it.
It’s a very, very — and they know it is going to be. And all you have to do is look at — as in a case in West Virginia, but many cases — I would say every single case in the last number of years where they’ve done this. And this is a tiny scale compared to millions of millions of ballots that are being sent.
This is going to be one of the great catastrophes and one of the great embarrassments in the history of our country — beyond elections. And the Democrats know it, and they’re setting it up for chaos. And that’s what they’ve done.
And these media companies, if you criticize it, they flag you, they take you down, they do all sorts of things. And they know it, too. They know it, too. But you’ve done a great job. When you did that in West Virginia and it was — it happened to be the same day that we were criticized —
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL MORRISEY: That’s right.
THE PRESIDENT: — for just mentioning — you better be careful — with unsolicited ballots.
Yeah, I think it’s a better name, Josh, because they said “universal ballots” and they had 15 different names. Didn’t mean — people said, “How does that have to do with being universal?” Unsolicited. Eighty million unsolicited ballots being sent all over the place. People are going to get them: “What the hell is this? What is it?” They’ll be harvesting them like crazy.
And, I mean, some of the states, they have no signature necessary, no verification necessary. Nevada, you don’t have to verify the signature. There’s no verification. It is a disgrace that this can happen.
Just remember, I told you so. I told you so. We’re going to win anyway, I hope. But I’ll tell you, it’s very tough when you have Democrat — I mean, it’s Democrat governors; it’s states controlled by Democrat governors. And they’re sending them out by the millions.
And, Josh, it’s going to be a mess, and they all know it. And the people that know it the most are the Democrats; they fully know. And then they talk about, “You’re suppressing our right to vote.”
They’re using COVID as a way of scamming the system. And when you talk about foreign countries — foreign countries are nothing compared that what’s taking place. And if foreign countries want to, this is an easy system to break into because they’ll do counterfeit ballots. They’ll do counterfeit ballots by the millions. So when you talk about China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, all the countries you talk about, that’s peanuts — that’s all peanuts compared to this.
But this is their opening, because they can use nice, cheap ballots, and they can send them out, counterfeit them, and just send them in. This is a disaster, and they should stop it before it’s too late.
Now, we’re before numerous federal judges — from what I hear, great federal judges — and they have the power to stop it. I hope they’re watching because somebody has got to make the plea. This is going to be a disaster. I’m not even saying bad for me. It could work both ways. I don’t think it will work both ways. But it could work both ways: could be against Republicans or Democrats. But I hope somebody is watching, because this is a disaster waiting to happen.
Thank you all very much.
Q Mr. President, is that why it’s so important, do you believe, to have a full complement at the Supreme Court to handle any potential challenges?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s a great question. It’s a very fair question. Yes, I think it’s very important. I think this will end up in the Supreme Court. And I think it’s very important that we have nine justices. And I think the system is going to go very quickly. I’ll be submitting at 5 o’clock, on Saturday, the name of the person I chose for this most important of all positions. And I think we should go very quickly. You see the Republicans are very united.
As far as timing is concerned, we were elected — we have a lot of time. One justice was picked in 19 days — 19 days. We have — we could do four at that rate, or five. (Laughter.)
No, we have a lot of time. No, before the election, and then you have after the election, too. But in terms of time, we go to January 20th. But I think it’s better if you go before the election because I think this — this scam that the Democrats are pulling — it’s a scam — this scam will be before the United States Supreme Court. And I think having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation, if you get that. I don’t know that you’d get that. I think it should be 8-nothing or 9-nothing. But just in case it would be more political than it should be, I think it’s very important to have a ninth justice.
{snip}
Thank you all very much.
END
3:25 P.M. EDT
Remarks by President Trump in a Discussion with State Attorneys General on Protecting Consumers from Social Media Abuses
INFRASTRUCTURE & TECHNOLOGY
Issued on: September 23, 2020
Cabinet Room
3:06 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, thank you very much. And we’re here today to discuss protecting Americans from censorship, cancel culture, and consumer abuses inflicted by big tech companies. As President, I’m committed to defending the freedom of speech, and you know what’s been going on. And we have some very brilliant people in this room, and they’ve been looking at it for a while.
We’re joined by Attorney General Bill Barr; Senator Josh Hawley; State Attorneys General Ken Paxton of Texas, Mark Brnovich of Arizona, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Alan Wilson of South Carolina, Sean Reyes of Utah, Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas, and Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia. That’s a very talented group of people, I have to say, to have you all in one room. We appreciate it.
In recent years, a small group of powerful technology platforms have tightened their grip over commerce and communications in America. They’ve used this power to engage in unscrupulous business practices while simultaneously waging war on free enterprise and free expression.
At the urging of the radical left, these platforms have become intolerant of diverse political views and abusive toward their own users. And I think we could say as abusive as you could possibly be, in some cases. Right, Josh? You’ve seen that.
For example, Twitter routinely restricts posts expressing conservative views, even from a President of the United States, while at the same time it allows Iran’s Supreme Leader to freely spew vile, anti-Semitic hate and even death threats.
Every year, countless Americans are banned, blacklisted, and silenced through arbitrary or malicious enforcement of ever-shifting rules. Some platforms exploit their power, acquire vast sums of personal data without consent, or rig their terms of service to coerce, mislead, or defraud. And we’ve seen it so many times.
{snip}
I’d like to ask the Attorney General to say a few words. Bill, please.
ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: Thank you, Mr. President, for convening this roundtable. And it’s a pleasure to have this opportunity to meet with all my colleagues and state attorneys general and Senator Hawley.
{snip}
And under the President’s leadership, this administration has committed to addressing potential abuses of online platforms in a number of important ways.
{snip}
STATE ATTORNEY PAXTON: And, Attorney General Barr, I appreciate the work we’re doing in this investigation of Google.
You know, one of the reasons that we were so interested in this is really what you said, Senator Hawley, is that, you know, we’re at this point where we have these corporations that have tremendous power. And if we don’t step up to the plate now and take a look at what they’re doing and how they’re doing it, we may never stop it. It may be just unstoppable. Some of them are — they’re really larger than countries and more powerful than countries. And they know more about people than we know about ourselves, which is a little scary.
So I appreciate the attorney generals that are working on our case now and that are going forward with other issues. And I think this relationship that we’ve had with the Department of Justice under you has been just amazing. And I’m really appreciative of it because I think, together — and it takes us together to take on some of the forces that we’re dealing with. So thank you very much.
ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR: Thank you, Ken.
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think we can say that we’re watching them very closely during this election cycle. They’re being watched and scrutinized very, very closely by everybody at this table. And far beyond this table, a lot of people are watching. And we’re going to just see. I mean, we see so many things that are unfair.
But this is big time. And we’ll let you know. We’re going to let you know. But it’s very serious. Very bad. Very serious.
{snip}
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL MORRISEY: Mr. President, I have a story that I think you’ll enjoy. When you were being criticized by Twitter, related to absentee ballots, that very same day, we concluded an investigation of West Virginia, which affirmed a lot of the very things you were saying.
THE PRESIDENT: (Laughs.) Everything.
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL MORRISEY: So that type of issue is an example of what can happen when you have these social media companies run amok. And there needs to be accountability. There needs to be an advancement of the First Amendment.
But I thought you’d appreciate the irony of that very day. That person is going to go to jail now. And, meanwhile, Twitter continues to engage and pretend that what’s true is not.
THE PRESIDENT: The whole thing with your balloting and what’s going on with balloting will prove to be one of the great catastrophes in the history of our country, even beyond elections. And the Democrats know it. They know what’s going on. They know how it’s going on; who is getting it; who is sending it; where is it going; where is it going back; where is it coming from; are mailmen involved; who’s delivering it.
It’s a very, very — and they know it is going to be. And all you have to do is look at — as in a case in West Virginia, but many cases — I would say every single case in the last number of years where they’ve done this. And this is a tiny scale compared to millions of millions of ballots that are being sent.
This is going to be one of the great catastrophes and one of the great embarrassments in the history of our country — beyond elections. And the Democrats know it, and they’re setting it up for chaos. And that’s what they’ve done.
And these media companies, if you criticize it, they flag you, they take you down, they do all sorts of things. And they know it, too. They know it, too. But you’ve done a great job. When you did that in West Virginia and it was — it happened to be the same day that we were criticized —
STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL MORRISEY: That’s right.
THE PRESIDENT: — for just mentioning — you better be careful — with unsolicited ballots.
Yeah, I think it’s a better name, Josh, because they said “universal ballots” and they had 15 different names. Didn’t mean — people said, “How does that have to do with being universal?” Unsolicited. Eighty million unsolicited ballots being sent all over the place. People are going to get them: “What the hell is this? What is it?” They’ll be harvesting them like crazy.
And, I mean, some of the states, they have no signature necessary, no verification necessary. Nevada, you don’t have to verify the signature. There’s no verification. It is a disgrace that this can happen.
Just remember, I told you so. I told you so. We’re going to win anyway, I hope. But I’ll tell you, it’s very tough when you have Democrat — I mean, it’s Democrat governors; it’s states controlled by Democrat governors. And they’re sending them out by the millions.
And, Josh, it’s going to be a mess, and they all know it. And the people that know it the most are the Democrats; they fully know. And then they talk about, “You’re suppressing our right to vote.”
They’re using COVID as a way of scamming the system. And when you talk about foreign countries — foreign countries are nothing compared that what’s taking place. And if foreign countries want to, this is an easy system to break into because they’ll do counterfeit ballots. They’ll do counterfeit ballots by the millions. So when you talk about China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, all the countries you talk about, that’s peanuts — that’s all peanuts compared to this.
But this is their opening, because they can use nice, cheap ballots, and they can send them out, counterfeit them, and just send them in. This is a disaster, and they should stop it before it’s too late.
Now, we’re before numerous federal judges — from what I hear, great federal judges — and they have the power to stop it. I hope they’re watching because somebody has got to make the plea. This is going to be a disaster. I’m not even saying bad for me. It could work both ways. I don’t think it will work both ways. But it could work both ways: could be against Republicans or Democrats. But I hope somebody is watching, because this is a disaster waiting to happen.
Thank you all very much.
Q Mr. President, is that why it’s so important, do you believe, to have a full complement at the Supreme Court to handle any potential challenges?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, it’s a great question. It’s a very fair question. Yes, I think it’s very important. I think this will end up in the Supreme Court. And I think it’s very important that we have nine justices. And I think the system is going to go very quickly. I’ll be submitting at 5 o’clock, on Saturday, the name of the person I chose for this most important of all positions. And I think we should go very quickly. You see the Republicans are very united.
As far as timing is concerned, we were elected — we have a lot of time. One justice was picked in 19 days — 19 days. We have — we could do four at that rate, or five. (Laughter.)
No, we have a lot of time. No, before the election, and then you have after the election, too. But in terms of time, we go to January 20th. But I think it’s better if you go before the election because I think this — this scam that the Democrats are pulling — it’s a scam — this scam will be before the United States Supreme Court. And I think having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation, if you get that. I don’t know that you’d get that. I think it should be 8-nothing or 9-nothing. But just in case it would be more political than it should be, I think it’s very important to have a ninth justice.
{snip}
Thank you all very much.
END
3:25 P.M. EDT
