White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed Wednesday that President Donald Trump was serious about vetoing the defense funding bill if it did not terminate Section 230 of the Community Decency Act.
“Yes, the president is serious about it,” McEnany replied when asked by a reporter if Trump would actually refuse to fund the military over the issue.
Democrats protested Trump’s demand on Wednesday saying military funding should not come under threat as a result of the president’s desire to punish platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
“There are real grave concerns here and the president stands by that,” McEnany said.
She said that Section 230 acted as a “shield” for big tech companies that had stepped beyond the initial category of the “public square” definition after they decided to fact check, remove, and censor individuals and even ban people from their platforms.
“If you are a publisher, there are certain responsibilities with that,” she said. “You shouldn’t be immune from liability.”
Trump signaled his veto threat on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
“Our Country can never be safe and secure if we allow it to stand,” Trump wrote, describing the Section 230 provision as a “serious threat to our national security and election integrity.”
McEnany noted that the president had already signed $2.9 trillion in funding for the military during his administration, and would continue to back the troops.
“But he is going to put the pressure on Congress to step up on this,” she added.
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