The 9th Circuit Court struck down President Trump’s travel ban and used his own Twitter account against him in the process, as a three-judge panel cited Trump’s latest tweets in the decision, according to CNN.
“Indeed, the President recently confirmed his assessment that it is the ‘countries’ that are inherently dangerous, rather than the 180 million individual nationals of those countries who are barred from entry under the President’s ‘travel ban,’” the judge wrote.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has said that the president’s tweets are considered “official statements by the President of the United States” and Trump sent the following tweet last week:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/871899511525961728
Spicer said during Monday’s briefing that the administration is reviewing the decision and believes the travel ban is “lawful” and will be ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court.
Neal Katyal, an attorney for the state of Hawaii which is challenging the ban, also mentioned Twitter. He brought up tweets sent during the campaign and mentioned the following tweet Trump sent on June 5:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/871675245043888128
“The President unquestionably violates that command when he issues an Order that disproportionality burdens Muslim-Americans, while denigrating the Muslim faith and making it abundantly clear that the Order’s harmful effect on Muslims is far from incidental,” Katyal argued.
As recently as Monday morning, the panel on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” ripped Trump for his continuous rants on Twitter, with co-host Mika Brzezinski saying, “He can’t help himself.”
Co-host Mika Brzezinski said, “It’s really causing a problem for the presidency.”
Even actor and vocal conservative James Woods hit up Twitter on Friday to offer some counsel to the chief executive about using the social media platform. Or, rather, not using Twitter.
“Word to the wise, Mr. President,” Woods wrote. “The #Left is doing a bang-up job of hanging itself. They really don’t need more rope. #Silence #TweetNoMore.”
Last week, White House staffers were reportedly surprised that the president managed to stay off Twitter while former FBI Director James Comey was grilled by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Of course, soon after, the president couldn’t help himself, tweeting that Comey’s testimony “totally vindicated” him in the Russia investigation.
The administration has appealed another ruling against the travel ban to the Supreme Court.