Said Dorsey to staff: “Some of you will be very supportive of our meeting [with] the president, and some of you might feel we shouldn’t take this meeting at all."
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey plans to meet with noted Twitter user President Donald Trump.
The meeting will last 30 minutes, according to an email Dorsey sent around today to Twitter staff, and the two will discuss "the health of the public conversation on Twitter."
The internal Twitter email was obtained by Motherboard. From their report:
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, along with other Twitter executives, is having a closed-door meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, according to an internal Twitter email obtained by Motherboard from two independent sources. The meeting comes after an invitation from the White House, the email adds.
The email does not detail what the meeting will specifically be about, but says the company anticipates it to be about “the health of the public conversation on Twitter,” according to the email written by Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s global lead for legal, policy, and trust and safety.
Dorsey himself chimed in on the thread, according to a second email obtained by Motherboard from two sources.
“As you know, I believe that conversation, not silence, bridges gaps and drives towards solutions,” Dorsey wrote. “I have met with every world leader who has extended an invitation to me, and I believe the discussions have been productive, and the outcomes meaningful.”
Some Twitter employees will likely take issue with their CEO meeting President Trump. Dorsey addresses this directly in the email, adding, “Some of you will be very supportive of our meeting [with] the president, and some of you might feel we shouldn’t take this meeting at all. In the end, I believe it’s important to meet heads of state in order to listen, share our principles and our ideas.”
Some responses from thinkers on Twitter, below.
Ironic that open conversation and transparency does not apply to this meeting. Ironic that he meets with someone who targets people for harassment including death threats. How long will trump wait to do a victory lap after the meeting. https://t.co/W21xUVWxn2 via @motherboard
— Leslie Miley (@shaft) April 23, 2019
The meeting is about "the health of the public conversation on Twitter," according to an internal Twitter email obtained by Motherboard, which is apparently the fancy way of saying "the president is working the refs with bullshit." https://t.co/IKrkjS9X4g
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) April 23, 2019
Reminder: Dorsey was *not* invited to Trump's 2016 sit-down with big tech CEOs. https://t.co/i9qLknmxl0
— John Paczkowski (@JohnPaczkowski) April 23, 2019
Twitter CEO @jack Dorsey is meeting with Donald Trump today.
Scoop by @josephfcox and @jason_koebler https://t.co/ccV5wGH8ro
— Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai (@lorenzofb) April 23, 2019
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
