Tweets not so fleeting

Trump has said he will continue to use his @realDonaldTrump account to speak directly “to the people” about issues of national and international importance.

Transition sources tell me @realDonaldTrump intends to keep using his own account as president, not switching to @potus himself — Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) January 16, 2017

A U.S. National Archives spokesperson has recently said that posted tweets are considered presidential records . Regarding deleted or altered tweets, however, the National Archives has not publicly stated a position, other than to say it isn’t clear whether the PRA applies to them. I believe it should, for several reasons.

The PRA does not allow the president to get rid of any presidential records without the written permission of the archivist. And presidential records that have “administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value,” cannot be destroyed at all.

The PRA has been unpopular with presidents since its enactment. There is a delicate balance between the public’s interest in preservation of and access to presidential records and the president’s need for autonomy during his or her term, without needing to worry about the public’s eventual judgment once out of office. Presidents have often used claims of executive privilege to withhold such records from the public, though the archivist would still maintain those with value. Months after 9/11, for example, President George W. Bush issued an executive order that allowed a current or former president to block public access to presidential records created during his administration. The order also expanded executive privilege, which allows a president and other high-level executive officers to keep information from the public. This was criticized by many as counter to a free democracy built on the public’s access to information.

For your eyes only?

Attempts to keep presidential records secret have typically revolved around whether the public should have access to records they have not previously seen.

Because tweets are by their nature public, the typical objections around executive privilege seemingly wouldn’t apply here. Millions of people can see a tweet instantly. Users may also retweet original messages, which can multiply their reach. In addition, Google currently displays Twitter content prominently in search engine rankings , especially tweets created by users with large followings. At the end of January 2017, @realDonaldTrump had almost 23 million followers, adding incentive for Trump to keep using the account . In the days since the inauguration, the official @POTUS account mostly consists of retweets of @realDonaldTrump.

Tweets are part of the official presidential record. So if Trump’s tweets are deleted or altered, the originals should also be archived. His administration has not yet announced, though, if or how it will archive these edited or deleted tweets.

Some sites have begun to independently archive Trump’s deleted tweets. Among those deleted since the November election are tweets stating that Mexico will reimburse Americans for the “Great Wall” (deleted after 51 seconds), China had stolen a United States Navy research drone (deleted after one hour), and campaigning under an Electoral College system is more difficult than under a majority vote system (deleted after 13 seconds). Tweets like these could cause diplomatic ripple effects. In fact, tweets about Mexico and China have indeed provoked responses from both countries.

If a tweet is the catalyst for a lost ally, new policy or other reaction, American history deserves to have a record of it.