New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was supposed to make an impact on the Democratic presidential nominating process. At least that’s what a handful of pundits thought. But after a little buzz on his first day and a few jabs by the President, it appears de Blasio was nowhere near ready to run for president despite coming in much later than most in the field.

Last week, we noted how his YouTube channel had failed miserably. But that embarrassment was nothing compared to his attempts to play on Twitter, which happens to be the President’s favorite social media playground.

In case he keeps the Tweet up (he shouldn’t) and doesn’t attempt to artificially boost his numbers (he shouldn’t), I’ll put it here to see if it got any traction. Out of sheer embarrassment for him, I shared it and encouraged people to help him out. This is just too cringeworthy to watch unfold on its own.

#ConDon & Co keep on attacking me because they think I’m a threat. Well, guess what—I know a bully when I see one, and I’m not going anywhere. https://t.co/jteUZGxAPb

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) May 20, 2019

Is Twitter important? There’s actually as much of a risk to candidates saying the wrong thing on Twitter as there is of them gaining support as a result. But between Trump’s epic use of Twitter in 2016 and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s use of the platform to shoot herself up to fame, candidates need to at least try to do well on the platform. Bill de Blasio is not doing well. That indicates two possibilities: either he and his team were ill-prepared to run for president or they’re not really running for president but rather running for a cabinet spot or something else in exchange for his help delivering the New York delegates to the eventual nominee.

Either option seems viable at this point.

One thing is certain: Bill de Blasio’s campaign for president should not be taken seriously by anyone. Democratic primary voters and Republican operatives need to all ignore him. He’s going nowhere in 2020.

What happened to the Houston Rockets’ Twitter account? Did they Tweet something conservative or Christian? Did they misgender someone? Is this retribution for falling to the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs four out of five of years? Whatever they did, Twitter decided to suspend them, leaving their 2.8 million followers in the dark.

Okay. What did the Houston Rockets do? pic.twitter.com/Qc3FCWhhmA

— 𝚁𝚎𝚢-𝚁𝚎𝚢 🤞🏾✌🏾 (@TheNoLookPass) May 20, 2019

All jesting aside, there are three likely scenarios. They could be the victims of a mass reporting attack in which multiple Twitter accounts report a user in a short period of time, prompting an algorithmic suspension. Or, if they’d been hacked, Twitter may have detected it and shut them down until the real users can regain control and change passwords.

But the most likely culprit is a DMCA takedown complaint that triggers instant temporary suspension. Chances are, they posted a video that included music they didn’t have permission to use. It happens.

Iowans, Tigers, and Rockets… oh my!
The DMCA copyright takedown notices that took out Iowa and Iowa State football twitter accounts this past weekend are now joined by @AuburnFootball and the @HoustonRockets—who knows if they were legit, the system presumes it wasn’t! pic.twitter.com/oQhD2t9rvU

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) May 20, 2019

The Rockets have not responded to our request for comment.

If you or someone you know gets suspended on social media, take solace in knowing even big organizations like the Houston Rockets can fall victim to the ban-hammer (though I doubt they’ll get the same scorn from Twitter as James Woods).

June 16th is a big day for multiple reasons to the President of the United States. It marks the four-year anniversary of then-candidate Trump riding down the golden escalator behind his wife, thumbs up, ready to become President. It happens to be Father’s Day this year, a nice touch for Americans that will certainly be made by leftist media to represent the oppressive patriarchy or something like that. It will also be the day the President officially launches his reelection campaign.

A report this morning by Axios notes that this date may be more symbolic than anything else. Rallies will start before (some have already been held) and after the day many Americans spend with their dads. “In conversations, Trump makes it clear that he thinks of the official kickoff as June 16 — four years to the day since he rode down the gold escalator in Trump Tower to announce his improbable 2016 run.”

Whatever the official day is doesn’t really matter. Reelection is already at the top of mind. The difference between now and his 2016 run is that instead of worrying about stock prices and real estate deals, he’ll be running this campaign against the backdrop of a trade war with China, aggression with Iran, turmoil at the border, and need to keep the economy humming.

He won’t have to worry much about primary season this time, though. Even though Bill Weld is technically in the race, his name has barely been mentioned since he announced his candidacy.

Letting the Democrats eat each other

A huge part of the equation for Trump’s campaign team will be keeping him attacking the right people for the right reasons. Being an incumbent who likes to attack his competitors puts him in a peculiar situation because his attacks can actually help someone emerge. As he continues to hit former Vice President Joe Biden and has softened on attacks against Senator Bernie Sanders, their numbers are heading in the opposite direction. It’s as if his attacks on Biden are fueling Democrats to want to support him more.

His team will have to be strategic in how he uses his tremendous punching power, particularly on Twitter. The last thing they want is for any one candidate to run away with the nomination early. They need to keep the Democrats attacking each other for as long as possible. As long as two or more candidates are close to the top, they’ll not only be prolonging the nomination process and burning through money going after each other, but they’ll also be giving ammunition for the President to use against the eventual nominee.

In less than a month, the President’s team will be in full-blown campaign mode. It also means now is the time for conservatives to start honing our message against the socialist wave of ignorance that his competitors are already starting.