Twitter has reinstated former US President Donald Trump’s account, which had been suspended since early 2021. The Republican’s profile was available again on Saturday night (local time) on the platform – with the last tweet dated January 8, 2021 in tall. A few minutes earlier, the new owner of Twitter Elon Musk had announced the activation after a survey among users of the short message service.
Trump had confirmed shortly before the poll’s deadline that he wanted to stick with his copy of Twitter Truth Social. Trump’s Twitter account, which once had more than 80 million followers, has had its subscriber count reset. As of noon Sunday, the @realDonaldTrump profile, which was blocked in January 2021, already had more than 52 million followers. At Truth Social, Trump has just over four million subscribers. The former president had just announced that he is running for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election and can therefore use a broader platform with greater reach.
“People have been talking,” Musk wrote of his decision. However, the survey wasn’t representative: About 15 million users took part in Musk’s scheduled 24-hour survey, while the service has more than 230 million daily active users according to the latest information available. A narrow majority of 51.8% voted in favor of Trump’s return.
Trump has been banned from Twitter since January 2021. On January 6, he expressed sympathy for his supporters who stormed the Capitol, the seat of the United States Parliament in Washington. There, Joe Biden’s electoral victory was to be officially sealed. Because of the attack, this didn’t happen until hours later.
Trump had stoked false expectations among his supporters that Vice President Mike Pence might refuse to confirm the election results that day. During the attack, Trump tweeted that Pence lacked the courage to do the right thing. Afterwards, people in the crowd yelled, “Hang Mike Pence!” Twitter interpreted Trump’s behavior as a call for violence and permanently blocked his account because it was not the first violation.
The offending tweets from January 6 are missing from the unblocked profile. Trump’s refuted presidential election claims that Biden allegedly stole from him continue to be accompanied by cautionary tales.
Until Musk took over, Twitter executives had always said there was no way for the former president to return. Musk, who recently acknowledged the political positions of Trump’s Republicans, had stressed months ago that, in his opinion, there should be no lifetime bans on the service. He specifically cited Trump as an example.
Three weeks ago, however, Musk announced that before he reinstates significant accounts, a council would be formed to address controversial content. This now seems outdated.
Trump himself has repeatedly stated that he does not want to return to Twitter. He likes him much better with his copy of Twitter, Truth Social. She also recommended her followers to take the poll on Saturday, but he wrote, “We’re not going anywhere. Truth Social is special!”
Facebook, where Trump has also been blocked since January 2021, wants to decide next January whether the former president can be offered a comeback. (apa/dpa)
