Trump hails James Woods' return to Twitter despite his call to 'hang' Democrats

Donald Trump welcomed James Woods back to Twitter on Friday, after the conservative actor’s account was reactivated following a nine-month long suspension.

Woods was booted from the platform last April after he refused to delete a tweet threatening Democrats.

“Welcome back James!” Trump wrote on Friday morning, linking to a story about the actor’s reinstatement.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) echoed those comments welcoming Woods back to the platform with a similar tweet.

Woods was banned last year on April 19 — one day after the Mueller Report was released — after tweeting, “‘If you try to kill the King, you better not miss.’ #HangThemAll.”

The tweet inaccurately cited a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote (“When you strike at a king, you must kill him”) that has been used in various movies and TV shows over the years, including “The Wire” (“You come at the king, you best not miss”).

Woods’ tweet appeared to be a reference to the Mueller report, which detailed the extensive ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and laid out several instances of possible obstruction by Trump. Despite those findings, special counsel Robert Mueller, who conducted the nearly two-year-long Russia investigation and authored the report, ultimately did not hand down any indictments against Trump, citing Justice Department protocol that prevents a sitting president from being charged with a crime.

Woods previously used similar imagery to attack pro-choice Democrats, writing in February last year, “Eventually these people will hang. Sooner or later they will go too far and they will hang. It’s in their destiny.”

Trump complained about Woods’ suspension at the time, although the actor’s account had initially been temporarily locked to compel him to remove the inciting tweet, which Woods himself admitted.

Woods was subsequently banned for refusing to remove the tweet.

“How can it be possible that James Woods (and many others), a strong but responsible Conservative Voice, is banned from Twitter? Social Media & Fake News Media, together with their partner, the Democrat Party, have no idea the problems they are causing for themselves. VERY UNFAIR!” Trump tweeted then.

Twitter’s terms of service explicitly prohibit the use of violent threats.

Trump’s warm welcome for Woods comes at the end of a week in which Republicans — led by Trump — complained that Speaker Nancy Pelosi was being uncivil for tearing up her paper copy of Trump’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night.

Republicans in Congress and other prominent conservatives used the “#PelosiTantrum” hashtag to air their grievances, which Trump himself amplified.

Mike Pence told “Fox and Friends” on Wednesday that he “wasn’t sure if she was ripping up the speech or ripping up the Constitution.”

House Republicans including Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz have since called for Pelosi to be punished or expelled for her decision. “Nobody is above the law,” Gaetz tweeted this week, after filing an ethics complaint against the House speaker.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.