What Would Happen if Twitter Deletes President Trump's Account Due to Policy Violations?
Nothing more than what has already happened. He violated Twitter's terms of service (TOS), and they have the right to do with his account whatever they choose. He doesn't own Twitter, so he has no say in the matter. Much like grounding a self-absorbed, hate-filled teenager, Twitter must stand firm in their authority against tyranny, even when it means facing resistance.
Consequences of a Twitter Ban for Trump
The ending result of the Trump/Twitter war is a significant loss for the quality of political discourse in this country. When the discourse starts in the gutter with Trump's toxic rants, it becomes exceptionally challenging to progress to a level of civil and constructive conversation. This impact goes beyond just Trump's presence; it reflects on the entire system of media and public communication.
Trump has promised to simply switch to another platform like Facebook. While this might seem like a straightforward solution, it raises ethical and legal concerns. If Trump were to demand that Twitter change its policies, this would constitute a violation of his own legal rights, as he attempted to do with CNN during his presidency. This demonstrates that Trump is the opposite of a strong, tough-guy leader; he is a coward who happens to be the most delicate snowflake in the White House's history.
Official Accounts and Government Influence
Ordinarily, suspending Donald Trump's Twitter account would be a simple business decision. Twitter has the absolute right to refuse service to anyone and has rules and policies to define what is permissible to its users. However, because official government accounts like the President's and the White House's serve the public interest, Twitter cannot suspend them. The President chose not to restrict his official Twitter posts to the official government channels, which creates its own set of complications.
The official Twitter account for a President is archived when the President leaves office and cannot be used ever again. It is moved to a new archive account, and this would likely happen to Donald Trump's personal account once he leaves office. The entire time in office would be removed from his personal account, and it is possible that the whole account would have to be closed to preserve official presidential records.
Meanwhile, the status of the account as an official government record means that Twitter is unlikely to remove it. Instead, it could freeze the account and require Trump to choose between opening a new account or using the official POTUS account, or both. The frozen account would become part of the official government archives.
The Future Without Trump's Personal Account
As long as the account remains an official government business account, Twitter will not be likely to actually remove it. However, it may use its discretion to hide posts that violate policy. Users can still unhide these posts, but this would still fall within policy guidelines, not blocking the President from making whatever tweets he wishes. If Trump wishes to make personal statements on a personal, not official, Twitter account, these will be treated like those of any other customer. No official government policy statements, just personal opinions.
The loss of Trump's personal account would simplify things significantly. It would be a lot easier to resolve this issue if there were no difference between official and personal accounts. This distinction complicates matters, as it blurs the lines between personal and official communication, potentially leading to further conflicts and controversies.