MAGA Candidates Are Absolutely Desperate to Get Banned From Twitter

Getting banned from Twitter has become a badge of honor for supporters of former President Donald Trump, and now at least one MAGA midterms candidate is openly taunting Twitter to ban his account.

Unfortunately for him, Twitter’s tolerance for misinformation and lies is much higher than he expected.

Jackson Lahmeyer, a pastor from Tulsa who’s challenging Sen. James Lankford for the Republican nomination in Oklahoma, posted the following tweet to his official account on Thursday:

Lahmeyer immediately emailed his supporters to warn them that he had triggered “the left” and would soon be in Twitter jail.

“I just tweeted 5 Politically Incorrect Truths and the Left is losing their minds on Twitter right now,” Lahmeyer wrote. “With the volume of Leftists reporting the tweet there is a chance I might get suspended from Twitter or even banned.”

Sadly for Lahmeyer, he hasn’t been banned. Twitter told VICE News that Lahmeyer’s post “is not in violation of the Twitter Rules.”

Instead, Twitter has labeled the tweet as misleading and limited its reach by preventing users from sharing, liking, or responding to it.

Lahmeyer is clearly desperate to join the club of MAGA figures who have been banned from Twitter, a club that includes former President Donald Trump and QAnon-loving Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The Tulsa pastor, who counts QAnon figurehead Michael Flynn among his supporters, likely believes that a Twitter ban would boost his standing in MAGA world and possibly even earn him that most coveted of prizes: a Trump endorsement.

And he needs it. Lahmeyer said he was running against Lankford, one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress, because the senator wasn’t willing to repeat the lies Trump was spreading about widespread electoral fraud.

That message appeared to give him some initial traction, and he was polling at 21% in the primary race back in October. But a poll earlier this month showed Lahmeyer polling at just 8%, a long way behind Lankford’s 46%.

Ever since Trump was banned from Twitter in the wake of the Capitol riot last January, his supporters have used the decision as “proof” there’s an anti-conservative bias on social media platforms. There is not an anti-conservative bias on social media platforms.

Despite having no evidence to back up their claims, GOP lawmakers and candidates continue to use this lie to rile up their supporters. Lahmeyer promised his followers this week: “When I arrive in DC, I will continue to speak the Politically Incorrect TRUTH and tackle Big Tech!”

Earlier this month, Greene had her personal Twitter account permanently suspended for spreading COVID-19 disinformation. Like Trump’s ban a year before, the decision to remove Greene’s account has led to a backlash in MAGA world. 

This week, podcast superstar and misinformation superspreader Joe Rogan announced that he was joining Twitter alternative Gettr following Greene’s ban.

But like almost all major figures who criticize Silicon Valley’s decision-making, Rogan remains on Twitter, where he has amassed almost 8 million followers. Just 10 days after joining Gettr, Rogan slammed the platform as a “fugazi” operation fueled by “fuckery.”

As for Lahmeyer, he’ll just have to try harder to get himself banned–and he may be able to get some tips this weekend when he speaks at the latest installment of the ‘ReAwaken America’ conspiracy conference series in Phoenix Arizona.

There he will share the stage with many people who have been banned permanently from Twitter, including disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former Nixon adviser Roger Stone, and pillow salesman and election fraud conspiracist Mike Lindell.

He can also talk to Eric Trump about getting that precious Trump endorsement.

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