Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) posted a photo on Twitter of a Montana antelope killed on a hunting trip with his wife, Cindy. The two pose with the elk in the picture, dressed in hunting clothes. His account was suspended on Monday night and the reason given was that the image violated the Twitter Terms of Service. How did Daines react to the news? He said, “My wife is a great shot. What can I say?”
The hashtag #FreeSteveDaines was created. Some other elected officials weighed in on behalf of their friend and colleague, including Senator Ted Cruz.
Ridiculous. My friend @SteveDaines is in @Twitter jail for posting this pic w/ his wife Cindy.
If you don’t like hunting, fine, don’t go. But don’t censor others who disagree.
And I’m pretty sure this is a formal job responsibility for a senator from Montana!#FreeSteveDaines pic.twitter.com/t6VdYNYe5u
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 7, 2023
You can see from the picture that there is nothing offensive about it unless a dead animal is offensive to you. There is no blood or even a bullet hole or anything like that. It’s a lot cleaner than many hunting pictures I’ve seen.
We’re talking Montana here. Hunting is considered a way of life for many. They eat the meat. It’s not “violence”.
One man said that Daines gifted his family with a whole elk one year.
Never been a big hunter but I’m all about #FreeSteveDaines
One year Sen. Daines gifted my family a whole elk that he harvested, processed and everything. He is a good man, let’s get him back on Twitter! @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/0Twvn3MCFY— Patrick Webb (@LibertyWebbMT) February 7, 2023
Daines is chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). NRSC spokesperson released a statement.
“This is insane. Twitter should immediately reverse this suspension,” said NRSC spokesman Philip Letsou.
His staff is working on getting Daines back on Twitter.
“The Senator thinks it’s preposterous that a picture of him and his wife hunting — an activity that is engrained in the Montana way of life — would be against Twitter rules. Our team has reached out to Twitter, and we’ll be working to get this resolved,” Rachel Dumke, press secretary for Daines, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The crazy thing is that Twitter’s sensitive media policy states that hunting pictures are an exception.
Twitter’s sensitive media policy states that certain images may be subject to removal, including pictures or video “that depicts excessively graphic or gruesome content related to death,” including “animal torture or killing.” The guidelines also state that exceptions to the policy may include “religious sacrifice, food preparation or processing, and hunting.”
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Whoever made this decision clearly isn’t familiar with how people live in some parts of the country. People enjoy the great outdoors. They hunt in various seasons, and they fish. It’s not unusual. I just checked his account as I write this and there is still a message in the bio space that reads, “@SteveDaines’s account is temporarily unavailable because it violates the Twitter Media Policy.” I’ll be surprised if it isn’t reinstated by the end of the day.
In the meantime, Daines continues to receive support as his friends tag Elon Musk in their tweets.
Hey @elonmusk – Why is Twitter putting @SteveDaines in Twitter jail? For his wife being a good shot? I guess since I’ve updated my profile picture, I better turn myself in. #FreeSteveDaines #NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/pCGQGDe2NJ
— Senator Mike Rounds (@SenatorRounds) February 7, 2023
This isn’t graphic violence. It’s a way of life ingrained in the American fabric from Montana to Georgia and beyond! I stand with my friend, @SteveDaines. #FreeSteveDaines pic.twitter.com/UzYjNVFJjt
— Buddy Carter (@Buddy_Carter) February 7, 2023
Fellow Montanan made a point.
For all those in San Francisco and elsewhere…
HUNTING IS CONSERVATION! #freestevedaines
— Ryan Zinke (@RyanZinke) February 7, 2023
My friend @SteveDaines was put in Twitter jail this morning for having this image as his profile picture. Why? pic.twitter.com/wKlv9bdKf8
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 7, 2023
You get the point. As I said, I don’t expect it will last for long. If I were him, I’d post another hunting picture as my next post. Just to screw with the Twitter overlords.
*UPDATE*: And, he’s back. The senator looks to be back on Twitter again. It’s 12:30 p.m. Central time as I make this update. I noticed a tweet from Elon Musk and thought, hmm. Don’t know if it’s related but nonetheless, Daine is back on Twitter.
Going forward, Twitter will be broadly accepting of different values, rather than trying to impose its own specific values on the world
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2023
