Senator Kamala Harris of California pressed Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts about why she had not called on Twitter to suspend President Trumps account during the Democratic presidential debate in Ohio on Tuesday.

Ms. Warren responded that she wanted to push Mr. Trump out of the White House, not just off Twitter. But she did not weigh in on whether the presidents favorite platform should suspend him.

Instead, she turned the discussion back toward antitrust and campaign finance laws, repeating that she had vowed not to take money from many corporate interests.

Here is a transcript of the exchange:

HARRIS: Senator Warren, I just want to say that I was surprised to hear that you did not agree with me that on this subject of what should be the rules around corporate responsibility for these big tech companies, when I called on Twitter to suspend Donald Trumps account, that you did not agree. And I would urge you to join me because here we have Donald Trump, who has 65 million Twitter followers and is using that platform as the president of the United States to openly intimidate witnesses, to threaten witnesses, to obstruct justice. And he and his account should be taken down. We saw in El Paso that that shooter in his manifesto was informed by how Donald Trump uses that platform, and this is a matter of corporate responsibility. Twitter should be held accountable and shut down that site. It is a matter of safety and corporate accountability.

WARREN: So, look, I dont just want to push Donald Trump off Twitter. I want to push him out of the White House. Thats our job.

HARRIS: Join me in saying that his Twitter account should be shut down.

WARREN: No. Lets figure out

HARRIS: No?

WARREN: Why it is that we have had laws on the books for antitrust for over a century, and yet for decades now, weve all called on how the big drug companies are calling the shots in Washington, big ag, how the gun industry, big tech you know, we really need to address the elephant in the room, and that is how campaigns are financed.

HARRIS: You cant say youre for corporate responsibility if it doesnt apply to everyone.

WARREN: I announced this morning that Im not going to take any money from big tech executives, from Wall Street executives. Weve already agreed, Bernie and I, were not taking any money from big pharma executives. You cant go behind closed doors and take the money of these executives and then turn around and expect that these are the people who are actually finally going to enforce the laws. We need campaign finance rules and practices that support us all.

HARRIS: It does not represent a system of justice to say that the rules will apply differently to different people. This is a matter, you are saying, of holding big tech accountable.

WARREN: Yes.

HARRIS: Holding big tech accountable because they have an outsized influence on peoples perceptions about issues. And they actually influence behaviors. We all have to agree this is their power. It is immense.

MARC LACEY, moderator: Senator Klobuchar, let me bring you in here. Your response.

HARRIS: Im not finished. Im not finished. And so what I am saying is that it seems to me that you would be able to join me in saying the rule has to apply to Twitter the same way it does to Facebook.

WARREN: Look, I think all of the rules should apply across the board. I dont have a problem with that.

HARRIS: So you will join me in saying Twitter should shut down that account?

WARREN: What I have a problem with is, if were going to talk seriously about breaking up big tech, then we should ask if people are taking money from the big tech executives. If were going to talk seriously about breaking up big drug companies, we should ask if people are financing their campaigns by taking money from big drug executives. If we are going to talk about Wall Street and having some serious regulation over Wall Street, we should ask if people are funding their campaigns by taking money from those executives.

Jake Frankenfield contributed reporting.

See original here:

Warren and Harris Spar Over Trumps Twitter Account - The New York Times