The long-awaited, and for some, dreaded, expansion of tweet character limits arrived for a small group of people on Tuesday afternoon. Late in the day on Sept. 26, Twitter announced (via a tweet, of course) that it was "trying something new" by allowing some users to Tweet up to 280 characters. Divisive as the broadening has proven to be, many Twitter users seemed to agree on one thing: Twitter should not give President Trump 140 more characters.
A brief history of the President's Tweeting habits both in and out of office includes mysterious early morning typos, racist birtherism conspiracy theories, and gendered — and strangely specific — attacks against morning talk show hosts. With such a repertoire, it is unsurprising that so many people are concerned about the prospect of giving the president more space to express himself.
According to a Twitter blog post written by product manager Aliza Rosen, the social media company hasn't decided whether the limited expansion will be permanent or universal: "Tweets get right to the point with the information or thoughts that matter. That is something we will never change."
However, given the punch that Trump has been able to pack into the current 140-character limit, Twitter was up in arms over the character limit news.
Don't Tell Trump
Even media organizations, whose headlines often revolve around the President's Tweets, expressed dismay.
Idiotic Statements
With more room to talk, the President could cause even more Twitter-related scandals.
This Effect
James Poniewozik, TV critic for The New York Times, imagined a 2016 election with more space for Trump's rambling thoughts.
Twitter Doesn't Listen
The relationship between Trump and Twitter's terms of service have come under criticism several times from users who believe the President has violated the rules.
Twice As Many Wars
Trump has been known to personally attack other world leaders on Twitter, which some believe could lead to war.
When Trump Finds Out...
With a reputation for frequent tweeting, one user expects the President to be very excited if given more space.
...And When John Kelly Finds Out
The White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has (so far) gained a reputation for organizing what has so far been an arguably chaotic administration.
So Much Room
The consensus was that Trump would enthusiastically take advantage of 140 more characters.
Nuclear War
If Trump had twice as much space, he would literally have as many characters needed to declare a nuclear war.
No More Cliffhangers
The President frequently sends multiple Tweets in a row in lieu of "threading," a more Internet-friendly way of expressing long thoughts.
More Reasons To Tweet
Many users have requested an "edit" button, but instead they may just receive longer Tweets.
No More Waiting
Since the President would theoretically no longer need to tweet multiple times in a row, his message would be delivered with one click.
Trump Written All Over It
President Trump's speeches have often been characterized by short sentences and repetitive clauses.
Start A War
Many Twitter users expressed concern that Trump would start a war in 280 characters.
Stop And Think
The impact of Trump's tweeting cannot be understated.
Trump's Staffers
Managing public relations for such a candid president was already a challenge when the character limit was half the size.
Here's An Idea
Perhaps the key to a smooth roll-out would be to give constituents more room to talk.
Planet Earth Says
Before Twitter's announcement, some users requested that Twitter remove a foreboding Trump tweet that concerned North Korea.
Tease Trump
One user thought that the limited release of the character expansion would be good fodder for Trump-taunting.
