Schiff slams Facebook for ending Trump suspension: ‘tragic decision’

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Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) slammed Meta’s move to reinstate former President Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts as a “tragic decision” after the company announced Wednesday it would allow the former president to return to social media sites.

“I think Facebook’s decision to reinstate Donald Trump is inexplicable,” Schiff said in an interview with MSNBC. “It represents, in my view, a total giving in and walking out. The only reason I can see is the profit reason here.

Trump had been banned from Facebook and Instagram for over two years following his actions during the January 6 uprising. Meta said he made the decision to lift the ban on the politician after determining that the public risk present during the insurrection had decreased.

The move comes as Trump is reportedly planning a return to more traditional social media sites as he begins his 2024 bid for the White House. He has spent most of the past two years on his social media platform, Truth Social .

But Schiff, who has been a frequent enemy of Trump, said what the former president posted on his social media platform would violate Facebook’s policies.

“He continued to give aid and comfort to those who committed acts of insurrection,” Schiff said. “He’s continuing to spread the big lie.”

Meta said that at the same time it was reinstating Trump, it was also unveiling new guardrails that would seek to deter repeat offenders against the site’s guidelines. For example, if Trump violates the platform’s rules again, he could face another suspension of between one month and two years.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), alongside Schiff in the MSNBC interview, also criticized Meta’s decision, arguing that Trump’s words still have a lot of influence with Republicans.

“We know his words have power and inspire, and then leaders of the Republican party, such as Speaker [Kevin] McCarthy [R-Calif.], they don’t condemn them,” Swalwell said. “And so, when they’re not convicted, they’re a green light and an open lane for more violence.”

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said allowing Trump to return to Facebook and Instagram was a “dangerous decision.”

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“Trump’s account reset proves there is no minimum Mark Zuckerberg won’t stoop to to reverse Meta’s dwindling revenue and stagnant consumer growth, even if it means harming our democracy,” he said on Twitter.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) had a more tepid response to Meta’s welcome back of Trump, shrugging off an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper when asked about the news and saying the former president has the right to express his views.

“You have a boyfriend who is a pathological liar,” Sanders said. “But he happens to be the former president of the United States and he has the right to express his views on him.”

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