There is a quote often attributed to John F. Kennedy, but it is unclear who really said it first: “Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan.”
Many people want to claim they initiated a success after the fact, no matter how loose the connection is.
On Twitter, Dave Smith, the host and producer of “The Refresh from Insider,” implied he had a hand in initiating Elon Musk’s tectonic takeover of Twitter, based on some tweets from 2017.
On April 25, Smith shared the fateful messages, noting, “This exchange continues to haunt me.”
This exchange continues to haunt me pic.twitter.com/W06oSqx0MR
— Dave Smith (@redletterdave) April 25, 2022
As reported by The Daily Wire, the tweets no longer appear on Twitter, as Elon Musk deleted all his tweets from before April 24, 2022. Smith shared a screenshot of the messages on his Twitter account.
The tweets showed Musk toyed with buying Twitter for years, even if he was passing it off as a joke.
Smith had a recent reminder of the discussion before he posted it. On April 15, Bloomberg ran an article analyzing an emoji Musk added that day as a reply to the four-year-old Twitter thread.
In the original conversation, Musk expressed an interest in purchasing Twitter and mused about how much it would cost. Musk’s update seemed to hint at the state of the negotiations at the time.
Bloomberg advised research showed the upside-down smiley face Musk used may mean frustration or bemused resignation.
It says much about the state of contemporary reporting that journalists used opinions about cutesy icons to evaluate a breaking story. However, the fact that even such marginalia was scrutinized demonstrated the intense media interest in the situation.
Or even horror about the situation. Smith said he was “haunted” by his banter with Musk. That wording suggests Smith might consider Musk’s purchase of Twitter not as a victory, but as a negative event.
Despite wanting to show off their discussion as if Smith gave Musk the idea in the first place, Smith also wanted to show he does not approve.
It was a way for Smith to have it both ways: It signaled the progressive cyberbullies of Twitter Smith was still a fellow traveler, while he got some reflected glory and attention off of Musk.
The establishment media had a meltdown over the idea Musk will impose a level playing field on a platform infamous for bias and censorship.
Twitter even censored President Donald Trump, both before and after the 2020 election. President Trump sued to be reinstated, but recently announced he does not intend to return even if Musk removes the ban, according to Fox News.
Musk identified what challenges he faced among his new customers.
The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022
The leftists want their preferences to be treated like laws. At the same time, they believe nothing they say or do can be wrong. It’s an unsustainable and unrealistic worldview.
On April 26, Musk announced his vision of a cure for the trouble with Twitter.
By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.
I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.
If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.
Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022
It will be good for the world if Musk delivers on this statement of principles.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
