'Stupid On So Many Levels' – Trump's Lawsuits Raked Over The Coals

"I've skimmed former guy’s complaint against Facebook and it’s every bit as stupid as you’d think it is," tweeted attorney George Conway.
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Lawyers, reporters and other people who still have access to social media went to town on Wednesday on former President Donald Trump’s moonshot lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter and Google.

Trump announced he’s seeking class-action lawsuits against the tech giants for what he claims is an infringement of his First Amendment rights. He says the companies violated his right to freedom of speech by disabling his social media accounts in January.

Trump was banned from Twitter and suspended from YouTube and Facebook for violating each of the platforms’ policies after he incited his supporters to attempt a violent overthrow of the US government on January 6.

Legal experts have anticipated that the lawsuits have little chance of success. The First Amendment applies to government censorship. It does not prevent private companies from moderating content on their platforms, and social networks have the right to remove users who violate their terms, a number of experts pointed out.

As they tend to do, critics online nitpicked the filings, pointing out a number of flaws – and funnies.

Conservative attorney George Conway and several others noted that Trump’s lawyers appeared to be arguing that the tech companies were in league with the government…when Trump was the president:

I’ve skimmed former guy’s complaint against Facebook and it’s every bit as stupid as you’d think it is.

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 7, 2021

It’s stupid on so many levels it’s head-spinning.

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 7, 2021

It’s insane enough that he’s claiming Facebook’s a state actor. Yes, in extreme cases, if otherwise non-state actors are acting in cahoots with the government, they can become state actors. But that’s an absurdly hard thing to show, and nothing like that occurred here.

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 7, 2021

But what makes this meta-insane is that he’s claiming that the Facebook was a FEDERAL state actor because it was entangled with the FEDERAL government at a time when HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

— George Conway (@gtconway3d) July 7, 2021

When paragraph 3 of your lawsuit declares Facebook is the government pic.twitter.com/uvzAJ9BScN

— Devlin Barrett (@DevlinBarrett) July 7, 2021

The mental (noun) of this lawsuit also hinges on the premise that when Facebook suspended Trump, it did so as part of the government Trump *was then running* since he was still, you know, the president

— Devlin Barrett (@DevlinBarrett) July 7, 2021

The lawsuit also clashes with some of Trump’s previous legal arguments. When he was sued for blocking people on Twitter as president, his legal team argued that he should be able to do as he pleases with his private account.

President Trump’s legal argument after he was sued for blocking people on Twitter: “My Twitter account isn’t subject to the First Amendment.”

Trump’s argument now that Twitter banned him: “Twitter *itself* is subject to the First Amendment.”

— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) July 7, 2021

Notably, Trump began fundraising immediately after announcing the news, which some saw as the true intention behind the long-shot lawsuit.

How you know this is a unserious lawsuit: Trump is already fundraising off of it pic.twitter.com/Njq8VqHAdB

— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 7, 2021

and now the RNC gets in on the fundraising act pic.twitter.com/i9lLK91ZTx

— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 7, 2021

Can’t raise money on Facebook? Sue Facebook to raise money! https://t.co/WW6pzSGZap

— Sam Stein (@samstein) July 7, 2021

The website where Trump's team said people could join Trump's class action lawsuit against social media companies instead just redirects to the "America First Policy Institute" website.

The site only allows people to donate & join their email list.

It's always just a grift. https://t.co/RSroxAhwUX pic.twitter.com/RPgsIOoD18

— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) July 7, 2021

No. The lawsuit isn't a "distraction" from his own legal problems. It's a fundraising effort to pay for them. He knows he is in trouble. He needs income when Trump Org collapses in debt. This grift is separate income to pay for the lifestyle and lawyers. Just my 2 cents.

— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) July 7, 2021

And finally, critics poked fun at the on-brand, motley crew of lawyers Trump assembled for the case.

Obviously Trump's lawsuit against Facebook and Twitter for censoring his posts is dumb and frivolous, which you can conclude after reading the entire 44-page complaint or just after checking how many of his Very Serious Lawyers use their AOL email accounts https://t.co/bldN6MyIIv pic.twitter.com/XOqsXsa9vx

— Jay Willis (@jaywillis) July 7, 2021

You know you're on the right side of history when you have the tobacco lawyers! https://t.co/2KHmh7tS3m

— David Gouldin (@dgouldin) July 7, 2021

That's two guys with "@aol.com" addresses for their professional email, a 13-lawyer firm that does personal injury work and insurance litigation, with lead counsel whose specialty is insurance claims and criminal defense (Matthew Baldwin), and a Greenwich CT firm whose named guys

— Akiva Cohen (@AkivaMCohen) July 7, 2021
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