Trump ‘will remain on Twitter’ after platform hack, McEnany says
President Trump plans to keep using Twitter following a hacking scheme that compromised the accounts of major corporations and political leaders, the White House said Thursday.
“The president will remain on Twitter but his account was secure and not jeopardized during these attacks,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters.
Dan Scavino, the deputy chief of staff for communications who oversees the White House social media operation, was in contact with Twitter as the hack played out late Wednesday to ensure the president’s account remained secure, McEnany said.
Former President Obama, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk were among the prominent figures whose Twitter accounts were breached on Wednesday.
Other major accounts that were hacked include companies such as Uber, Square’s Cash App and Apple. The accounts all posted similar messages promising to double bitcoin payments and a link to bitcoin wallet which got more than $117,000 put into it.
The platform temporarily halted the ability of verified accounts to send tweets while they addressed the issue. As a result, Trump announced a change in leadership at his reelection campaign on Facebook before posting it on Twitter once posting privileges were restored.
The FBI has initiated an investigation into the hacking incident.
Trump has complained about Twitter at length at times during his first term, claiming that it is suppressing conservative voices and lashing out after the platform flagged some of his tweets for containing direct threats or inaccurate information.
Still, he has continued to tweet unabated, oftentimes sending dozens of tweets and retweets in a single day and using the platform to air grievances and share major political and policy updates.
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