Twitter Inc. shares took a hit after banning President Trump’s account in a move the company claims was done to prevent the instigation of further violence.
Shares of the California-based company dropped more than 10% at the opening bell on Monday, erasing over $2.5 billion from their $41 billion market capitalization. Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. stocks also fell after the president’s accounts were suspended from their platforms.
Twitter’s decision to remove Trump from the social media platform was made after he posted two tweets which the company claims were in direct violation of its glorification of violence policy.
In one tweet Trump wrote, “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
The second tweet in question said, “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
Before his account was permanently deleted, President Trump had over 88 million followers putting in the top six of most-followed users. Former President Barack Obama is in first place with around 120 million followers.
Trump’s absence from the platform could cause many of his supporters to move over to their more conservative-friendly rival Parler, which is known for its lack of censorship. Many conservatives and celebrities have already reported losing thousands of followers.
Before removing Trump for good, both Twitter and Facebook temporarily blocked the president from using his account after he posted a video telling his supporters who stormed the Capitol to “go home in peace.”
Since November’s election, the number of daily users has been “slightly lower” while the Wall Street consensus is expecting to have a daily increase of 7 million users for the fourth quarter.
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