Donald Trump posted on Facebook and YouTube on Friday for the first time since his banishment two years ago following the assault on the Capitol.
“I’M BACK !“wrote the former Republican president, who is seeking a second term in 2024. He accompanied these words with a short video from CNN, in which he is flanked by his vice president Mike Pence and his son Barron, and which appears to date from the night of his election in 2016.”Sorry to keep you waiting, it was complicated“, he said there. His message was greeted by hundreds of comments, including several “Happy to see you again” et “What a relief that you are back Mr President“.
Earlier Friday, online video platform YouTube announced it was ending its suspension. “As of today, the channel +Donald J. Trump+ is no longer subject to restrictions“, had indicated the American giant on Twitter. The Republican had been excluded from the social network in January 2021, while he was still in power, for having encouraged his supporters during the attack on Congress in Washington. This decision without precedent had been imitated at the time by most mainstream social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
To justify its decision, YouTube said on Friday that it evaluated “the risk of violence“, while taking into account the importance, for voters, of hearing “equally major national candidates“. Donald Trump had already been re-admitted to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram over the past few months. Until now, he communicated mainly through his own platform, Truth Social.
