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Chronicles

The story behind the story

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A spokesperson for Donald Trump says his blog, used to share statements after he was banned on Facebook and Twitter, has been permanently shut down

it's free reach. It's never been clearer what stunts like the Florida deplatforming law are really about. https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/... Eugene Scott / @eugene_scott : A Trump adviser told The Washington Post that the former president shut down his blog because he didn't like that this platform was being mocked and had so few readers. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Charlie Warzel / @cwarzel : RIP Trump's blog 5/4/21 -6/2/21 https://twitter.com/... Drew Harwell / @drewharwell : New: Trump was upset that people were mocking his low-traffic blog. So he ordered it be put out of its misery at the tender age of 29 days. He still wants to build a social media platform, though, which is like a blog but 500x more complicated https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... w/ @jdawsey1 Aaron Rupar / @atrupar : Trump's blog lasted about two Scaramuccis https://www.cnbc.com/... Marc E. Elias / @marceelias : No Joke: @DemocracyDocket had higher readership and engagement. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Andrea Kuszewski / @andreakuszewski : Life comes at you fast https://twitter.com/... Kayla Gogarty / @ohhkaygo : I didn't realize this wasn't common knowledge among journalists, but Facebook NEVER took down Trump's page.They only stopped him from creating new posts. In fact, his posts have been earning engagement this whole time because users were still able to react, comment,and share them https://twitter.com/... Tommy Vietor / @tvietor08 : Good reminder of how important @Facebook and @Twitter were to Trump's political success. The question now is whether Zuckerberg will once again cave to right-wing pressure and let him back on the platform. https://twitter.com/... Akilah Hughes / @akilahobviously : Deplatforming works. https://twitter.com/... Natali Carman / @natalicarman : Trump blog page shuts down for good. Seems like his 30 day trial ran out #TrumpsLastBlog https://twitter.com/... @jdcocchiarella : In the span of a few months, Donald Trump lost the presidency, the Senate, his Twitter, his Facebook and Instagram, and his blog. I think he finally got tired of winning. Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore : More than anything, a reflection of how critical the scaling mechanism of mainstream social platforms — and their intertwining with legacy media — were to Trump's megaphone. https://twitter.com/... Jon Cryer / @mrjoncryer : Once again I am grateful that he has the attention span of toddler. https://twitter.com/... Scott Monty / @scottmonty : Let that be a lesson to bloggers everywhere: if you don't see results in the first month of your efforts, give up. https://twitter.com/... Erica Joy / @ericajoy : social media's ability to spread messages far, fast, and for free is not something i've seen on any other medium. https://twitter.com/... Mia Farrow / @miafarrow : Trump ends blog after 29 days, infuriated by measly readership. Upset On its last day, his site received just 1,500 shares or comments on Facebook and Twitter https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Dave Lee / @daveleeft : As I think I've said before — both the best and worst argument for deplatforming is that it works. https://twitter.com/... Scott Weinberg / @scottemovienerd : so much subtle shade being thrown in this piece :-D https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Alistair Coleman / @alistaircoleman : As per WaPo, Trump shut his blog for the same reason everybody else does. https://twitter.com/... Hemant Mehta / @hemantmehta : That's how every single blog works though. https://twitter.com/... Hutch / @hutchinson : 40,000 votes spread out differently across a few states and this pathetic and humiliated shithead would be in office right now, bragging that he was the best and most popular president in history, suggesting he should serve another term after this one. Great work, people 👍👍👍 https://twitter.com/... Kara Swisher / @karaswisher : Man the details of this are really not good for brand Trump. https://twitter.com/... Seung Min Kim / @seungminkim : “Former president Donald Trump's blog, celebrated by advisers as a “beacon of freedom” that would keep him relevant in an online world he once dominated, is dead. It was 29 days old.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Bobby Goodlatte / @rsg : Trump without engagement algorithms = nobody listens Tells you a lot about Trump. Tells you a lot about engagement algorithms. https://twitter.com/... Drew Harwell / @drewharwell : @jdawsey1 @BrandyZadrozny Trump actually started blogging more after our story - 10 posts last Tuesday! - but his social engagement flatlined anyway, with 1,500 shares/comments on Facebook & Twitter on its last day. Pipsqueak levels; he once got >100,000 reactions with every tweet https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... @allahpundit : someone should tell trump that a blog doesn't really hit its stride until year 15

CNBC Kevin Breuninger

Context & Ripple Effects

Trump’s website section was introduced in May after Twitter’s permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump, making it a direct attempt to retain a publishing outlet outside the major platforms. Its closure ends that short-lived post-ban website publishing channel rather than establishing the alternative platform Trump had previously floated.

The related coverage also showed that attention around Trump’s prior Facebook activity continued inside Facebook itself, where a final post drew sustained comment activity. The episode underscores the gap between owning a page and recreating the audience distribution of the platforms that enforced the bans.

First-order effects

  • Trump’s communications operation loses the website section it had used to publish statements after the permanent Twitter suspension.
  • Facebook and Twitter retain the practical advantage of controlling the large audiences from which Trump’s statements were excluded, while the standalone blog no longer provides a substitute outlet.

Second-order effects

  • The closure strengthens the value of platform-hosted engagement: related coverage found Trump’s final Facebook post still functioning as a high-comment gathering point for supporters and critics.
  • Political figures seeking to route around platform enforcement face a distribution problem: a self-hosted publishing page can carry messages but does not automatically recreate a platform’s audience or conversation layer.

Third-order effects

  • If this pattern persists, platform enforcement will shape political communications not only through account access but through the difficulty of replacing established distribution networks with owned web properties.
  • The broader contest shifts toward whether independent outlets can pair publishing control with durable audience reach, rather than merely launch a substitute site after enforcement.

The trend: Platform moderation is making audience distribution, not just the ability to publish, the central constraint on efforts to build post-ban political media outlets.

Discussion

  • @caseynewton Casey Newton on x
    Trump's near-instant abandonment of blogging illustrates that the real power of platforms isn't “free speech” — it's free reach. It's never been clearer what stunts like the Florida deplatforming law are really about. https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/...
  • @eugene_scott Eugene Scott on x
    A Trump adviser told The Washington Post that the former president shut down his blog because he didn't like that this platform was being mocked and had so few readers. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
  • @cwarzel Charlie Warzel on x
    RIP Trump's blog 5/4/21 -6/2/21 https://twitter.com/...
  • @drewharwell Drew Harwell on x
    New: Trump was upset that people were mocking his low-traffic blog. So he ordered it be put out of its misery at the tender age of 29 days. He still wants to build a social media platform, though, which is like a blog but 500x more complicated https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... …
  • @atrupar Aaron Rupar on x
    Trump's blog lasted about two Scaramuccis https://www.cnbc.com/...
  • @alistaircoleman Alistair Coleman on x
    As per WaPo, Trump shut his blog for the same reason everybody else does. https://twitter.com/...
  • @marceelias Marc E. Elias on x
    No Joke: @DemocracyDocket had higher readership and engagement. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
  • @andreakuszewski Andrea Kuszewski on x
    Life comes at you fast https://twitter.com/...
  • @ohhkaygo Kayla Gogarty on x
    I didn't realize this wasn't common knowledge among journalists, but Facebook NEVER took down Trump's page.They only stopped him from creating new posts. In fact, his posts have been earning engagement this whole time because users were still able to react, comment,and share them…
  • @tvietor08 Tommy Vietor on x
    Good reminder of how important @Facebook and @Twitter were to Trump's political success. The question now is whether Zuckerberg will once again cave to right-wing pressure and let him back on the platform. https://twitter.com/...
  • @akilahobviously Akilah Hughes on x
    Deplatforming works. https://twitter.com/...
  • @natalicarman Natali Carman on x
    Trump blog page shuts down for good. Seems like his 30 day trial ran out #TrumpsLastBlog https://twitter.com/...
  • @jdcocchiarella @jdcocchiarella on x
    In the span of a few months, Donald Trump lost the presidency, the Senate, his Twitter, his Facebook and Instagram, and his blog. I think he finally got tired of winning.
  • @nickconfessore Nick Confessore on x
    More than anything, a reflection of how critical the scaling mechanism of mainstream social platforms — and their intertwining with legacy media — were to Trump's megaphone. https://twitter.com/...
  • @mrjoncryer Jon Cryer on x
    Once again I am grateful that he has the attention span of toddler. https://twitter.com/...
  • @hemantmehta Hemant Mehta on x
    That's how every single blog works though. https://twitter.com/...
  • @scottmonty Scott Monty on x
    Let that be a lesson to bloggers everywhere: if you don't see results in the first month of your efforts, give up. https://twitter.com/...
  • @ericajoy Erica Joy on x
    social media's ability to spread messages far, fast, and for free is not something i've seen on any other medium. https://twitter.com/...
  • @miafarrow Mia Farrow on x
    Trump ends blog after 29 days, infuriated by measly readership. Upset On its last day, his site received just 1,500 shares or comments on Facebook and Twitter https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
  • @daveleeft Dave Lee on x
    As I think I've said before — both the best and worst argument for deplatforming is that it works. https://twitter.com/...
  • @scottemovienerd Scott Weinberg on x
    so much subtle shade being thrown in this piece :-D https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
  • @hutchinson Hutch on x
    40,000 votes spread out differently across a few states and this pathetic and humiliated shithead would be in office right now, bragging that he was the best and most popular president in history, suggesting he should serve another term after this one. Great work, people 👍👍👍 http…
  • @karaswisher Kara Swisher on x
    Man the details of this are really not good for brand Trump. https://twitter.com/...
  • @seungminkim Seung Min Kim on x
    “Former president Donald Trump's blog, celebrated by advisers as a “beacon of freedom” that would keep him relevant in an online world he once dominated, is dead. It was 29 days old.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
  • @rsg Bobby Goodlatte on x
    Trump without engagement algorithms = nobody listens Tells you a lot about Trump. Tells you a lot about engagement algorithms. https://twitter.com/...
  • @drewharwell Drew Harwell on x
    @jdawsey1 @BrandyZadrozny Trump actually started blogging more after our story - 10 posts last Tuesday! - but his social engagement flatlined anyway, with 1,500 shares/comments on Facebook & Twitter on its last day. Pipsqueak levels; he once got >100,000 reactions with every twee…
  • @allahpundit @allahpundit on x
    someone should tell trump that a blog doesn't really hit its stride until year 15
  • @campuscodi Catalin Cimpanu on x
    Trump finds out that old adage that not everyone who sees your tweets actually likes you. Just because 10m+ users saw his tweets doesn't mean that all liked what he was saying. https://t.co/qzhLn9Ysk8
  • @maggienyt Maggie Haberman on x
    The online version of the Tulsa rally nearly a year ago https://twitter.com/...
  • @hunterwalk @hunterwalk on x
    Area Man Shuts Down Blog After Three Posts or Ex-Presidents — They're Just Like Us! or Can't Wait for the Substack to Launch https://twitter.com/...
  • @frankluntz Frank Luntz on x
    “The blog, unveiled last month and originally billed as a new ‘communications platform,’ seemed ill-equipped to take on largest social media companies.” https://www.cnbc.com/...
  • @rstephens Robert Stephens on x
    Of course he shut this down. It destroyed his argument that he didn't have “freedom of speech” https://twitter.com/...
  • @alexthomas Alex Thomas on x
    he actually cancelled himself https://twitter.com/...
  • @jessehawken Jesse Hawken on x
    In a devastating blow to free speech and freedom of expression, Trump's blog has been shut down. https://www.cnbc.com/...
  • @silviakillings Silvia Killingsworth on x
    he's a real blogger now https://www.cnbc.com/...
  • @meridithmcgraw Meridith McGraw on x
    “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” page has been permanently shut down, @JasonMillerinDC tells @CNBC: “It was just auxiliary to the broader efforts we have and are working on” https://www.cnbc.com/...
  • @jyarow Jay Yarow on x
    I've seen this so often with new writers. They have a bunch of great ideas to write and burst on the scene with blog posts. Then, after 10 good posts, it's like, what now? It's not as easy to blog as people think.
  • @qjurecic Quinta Jurecic on x
    who among us has not also started a blog and abandoned it when it turned out no one wanted to read it https://twitter.com/...
  • @jyarow Jay Yarow on x
    Blogging is hard. https://www.cnbc.com/...