The former US president’s ban was lifted after online voting
Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, lifted former US President Donald Trump’s lifetime ban from the platform on Saturday.
“People have spoken. Trump will be reinstated” Musk tweeted. he added “Voice of the people, voice of God”, a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
The SpaceX and Tesla CEO launched a poll on Twitter on Friday, asking whether Trump’s account should be reinstated. Of the more than 15 million users who participated, 51.8% voted “yes” and 48.2% voted “no”.
Trump posted on Truth Social, the platform he created after his Twitter ban, that he would not be returning to Twitter.
“Vote now with positivity, but don’t worry, we’re going nowhere. Social truth is special! he wrote.
Twitter, along with Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, banned Trump shortly after his supporters stormed and briefly invaded the Capitol building in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying election victory by Joe Biden. Twitter said at the time that Trump, who claimed the election was stolen from him, was inciting violence with his posts.
READ MORE: Elon Musk restores some high-profile Twitter accounts
The news of Trump’s reinstatement on Twitter came days after he officially announced he would run again in 2024.
On Friday, Musk reinstated several high-profile accounts, including psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, comedian Kathy Griffin and satirical website The Babylon Bee. American broadcaster CBS News announced the same day that he would stop using Twitter, citing “uncertainty” on platform policies under Musk.
