Anyone who uses Twitter knows that at least 67% of their followers originate from a Russian troll farm and that the platform periodically deletes such spammy users. And yet for Donald Trump, a man whose fragile ego is held together by hairspray, orange bronzer, and artificially inflated numbers, one’s Twitter follower count is the ultimate barometer of success.
Thus, it should come as no surprise to learn that Trump invited Twitter founder Jack Dorsey to the White House on Tuesday so that he could rant about his loss of Twitter followers.
The meeting was set up under the premise that they’d be discussing ways to “protect the health of the public conversation ahead of the 2020 U.S. elections and efforts underway to respond to the opioid crisis.” Of course, things quickly went awry.
Per The Washington Post:
A significant portion of the meeting focused on Trump’s concerns that Twitter quietly, and deliberately, has limited or removed some of his followers, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity because it was private. Trump said he had heard from fellow conservatives who had lost followers for unclear reasons as well.
But Twitter long has explained that follower figures fluctuate as the company takes action to remove fraudulent spam accounts. In the meeting, Dorsey stressed that point, noting even he had lost followers as part of Twitter’s work to enforce its policies.
Citing two people close to Trump, The Daily Beast adds that Trump “repeatedly griped to associates about how his predecessor, President Obama, has had more Twitter followers than he has, even though—by Trump’s own assessment—he is so much better at Twitter than Obama is.”
All that being said, it’s unlikely Trump will quit Twitter anytime soon. In just the last two days alone, he has tweeted in excess of 30 times.
Great meeting this afternoon at the @WhiteHouse with @Jack from @Twitter. Lots of subjects discussed regarding their platform, and the world of social media in general. Look forward to keeping an open dialogue! pic.twitter.com/QnZi579eFb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2019
