President Donald Trump has "weaponized" Twitter, columnist Charles Krauthammer said Tuesday during a roundtable discussion about healthcare on Fox News.
Trump reportedly ribbed Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday and told them if they did not push through the House healthcare replacement bill they would likely lose their seats in 2018. The bill currently lacks the support it needs and could be blocked ahead of a planned Thursday vote.
"I’m gonna come after you, but I know I won't have to, because I know you'll vote 'Yes,'" Trump told Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus which has publicly opposed the bill. Meadows took the jab lightly while Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., called the statement "a reality," and not a threat.
Krauthammer said Trump's intention was clear.
"He said essentially you better come aboard; he did it with a smile; he did it with a joke, (but) I think he means it," Krauthammer told "Special Report with Bret Baier," referring to Republicans losing their seats in 2018.
Krauthammer did not expound on the reference he made about Trump using Twitter as a weapon, but he was likely referring to the way the president used the social media platform to criticize his opponents.
Trump has taken jabs at plenty of people on Twitter, but also at news outlets, federal judges, and other countries. Recently on the topic of the healthcare bill, he said there was "Great progress on healthcare! Improvements being made – Republicans coming together!"
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