Trump complains that people have stopped following him in bizarre Twitter post

Donald Trump has complained that fewer people are following him on Twitter, accusing the site of undermining him.

Amid a series of unfolding crises, the president took to his Twitter account to complain that he had lost followers. He also appeared to suggest that the site is making it harder to follow him, for which there is no evidence.

"Twitter has removed many people from my account and, more importantly, they have seemingly done something that makes it much harder to join - they have stifled growth to a point where it is obvious to all," he posted. "A few weeks ago it was a Rocket Ship, now it is a Blimp! Total Bias?"

All of the references appear to be to his account: he appears to be suggesting that Twitter has made it harder to follow him and that it has "stifled growth" of his follower number.

It is not correct that Twitter has made it harder to join the site or to follow the president. His account is followed like any other on the site – by pressing one button that is prominent on his page.

Twitter did conduct a major effort to purge the site of fake and inactive accounts and bots, in an attempt to make the platform more healthy. It appears to be that effort which has reduced his follower number and upset the president.

The post was one of a series of angry tweets sent by the president over the morning. They also included a 3am message in which he lashed out at CNN for "blaming him" over the recent run of bombs that have been sent to his critics.

It also came immediately before a post in which Mr Trump said that the "bomb stuff" had been harming Republican voting in the midterms.