Twitter "hid" a tweet by President Donald Trump on Friday morning, saying that the message violated the platform's rules about "glorifying violence."
The tweet was in reference to protests in Minneapolis regarding the death of George Floyd. Trump threatened to send in the National Guard if Minnesota officials could not reign in rioting and added that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." He also refered to looters as "THUGS."
According to NBC News, the phrase, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" has some historical context. It was first used in 1967 Miami's police chief Walter Headley, who used the phrase in connection with racial minorities in the city. The quote was said to contribute to race riots in the city in the late '60s.
Trump's tweet is now no longer visible directly from his timeline. Instead, the tweet is covered up by a message.
"This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible," the message read.
....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
It appears to be the first time Twitter has chosen to hide — but not delete — a tweet from Trump that violates the site's terms of service. Previously, Twitter had chosen not to do anything to Trump's tweets that violated its terms of service.
The move came hours after Trump signed an executive order that he said was designed to regulate what he considers to be "anti-conservative" bias in social media. Trump's order was in response to Twitter applying a fact-check link to two of his tweets about mail-in voting, which led users to more information on the subject.
On Friday morning, the White House Twitter account tweeted the same message that Trump had tweeted. A little over an hour later, Twitter chose to hide that tweet as well.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” https://t.co/GDwAydcAOw
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 29, 2020