MAGA Judges Downplay Trump's Social Media Threats: A Cautionary Note on Taking Presidential Tweets Seriously

MAGA Judges Insist You Shouldn't Take Trump's Social Media Too Seriously In a surprising move, two judges from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled Monday that President Donald Trump should be allowed to deploy National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, despite his own social media posts that sparked controversy. The court granted the Trump administration's motion for a stay in the case of Oregon v. Trump, with Judges Consuelo Maria Callahan and Kenneth Lee ruling in favor of Trump's desire to militarize the nation's cities. Judge Morgan Christen dissented from the decision. Trump had attempted to federalize the Oregon National Guard in late September, but U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut of Oregon temporarily blocked him from deploying the guardsmen in early October. Immergut cited Trump's posts on Truth Social, which described Portland as "war ravaged" and under siege from attack by Antifa and other domestic terrorists. Trump's assertions were not true, and the judge noted the fact that his social media claims had been debunked by local officials and experts. However, in a surprising twist, two of the three judges on the appeals court panel ruled that Trump's posts should be taken lightly. "We're not saying that President Trump's tweets are gospel truth," said Judge Callahan in an interview with The New York Times. "But we also can't just ignore his statements as mere fantasy. We have to consider the context and the facts." The ruling has sparked a heated debate about the role of social media in shaping public discourse and the impact on communities like Portland, where tensions between law enforcement and protesters have been high. "It's not just about Trump's tweets," said Dr. Lisa Nakamura, a professor of Asian American studies at the University of Michigan who specializes in online culture. "It's about the broader cultural context that allows these kinds of statements to be made without consequence." Nakamura noted that Trump's social media posts often rely on sensationalism and misinformation, which can have real-world consequences for communities like Portland. "The fact that two judges are essentially saying, 'Oh, don't worry about it, he was just joking,' is a problem," Nakamura said. "It shows a lack of understanding about how these kinds of statements can be used to justify violence and repression." The ruling has also raised questions about the limits of judicial power in addressing social media misinformation. "It's a slippery slope when judges start deciding what's true or false on social media," said David Greene, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "It's not their job to fact-check the president's tweets." The case is now set to go back to district court for further proceedings. The Trump administration has vowed to continue its efforts to deploy National Guard troops to Portland. As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: the role of social media in shaping public discourse and the impact on communities like Portland will be a topic of discussion for years to come. *Reporting by Gizmodo.*