Trump complains Twitter has removed people from his account

President Trump attacked Twitter on Friday for allegedly removing “many people from [his] account” and doing “something that makes it much harder to join” Twitter.

“Twitter has removed many people from my account and, more importantly, they have seemingly done something that makes it much harder to join – they have stifled growth to a point where it is obvious to all,” Trump tweeted on Friday morning. “A few weeks ago it was a Rocket Ship, now it is a Blimp! Total Bias?”

Twitter has removed many people from my account and, more importantly, they have seemingly done something that makes it much harder to join – they have stifled growth to a point where it is obvious to all. A few weeks ago it was a Rocket Ship, now it is a Blimp! Total Bias?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 26, 2018

It’s unclear what actions the president is referring to.

Archived versions of President Trump’s Twitter page from earlier this month, August and September only show the president’s follower count steadily increasing by around 1.5 million in a two-month span.

SocialBlade analytics also show Trump’s follower account steadily increased since Oct. 13.

It is possible that Twitter’s recent purge of automated accounts, or bots, may have affected the president’s follower count. Twitter announced on Thursday that it lost 9 million users in the third quarter of this year, largely in part to its crackdown on bot accounts.

When asked for comment on Trump’s tweet, Twitter on Friday said it has been focused on increasing the “health” of its platform, by removing fake actors.

“Our focus is on the health of the service, and that includes our work to remove fake accounts and those engaging in malicious behavior,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. “Many prominent accounts have seen follower counts drop, but the result is higher confidence that the followers they have are real, engaged people.”

Republican former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also chimed in on Twitter Friday, noting that he had experienced a similar drop-off in followers.

“Same thing has happened to my account.  It is NOT accidental or honest on Twitter’s part.  They are intentionally throttling voices that are not in liberal lockstep. Time for Congress to investigate!” Huckabee tweeted.

Same thing has happened to my account. It is NOT accidental or honest on Twitter’s part. They are intentionally throttling voices that are not in liberal lockstep. Time for Congress to investigate! https://t.co/JX0OlBAUX7

— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) October 26, 2018

The president and prominent Republican lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), in recent months have accused Twitter and other tech giants, including Facebook and Google, of bias against conservatives.

“I won’t mention names but when they take certain people off of Twitter or Facebook and they’re making that decision, that is really a dangerous thing because that could be you tomorrow,” Trump said in August.

–Updated at 11:17 a.m.