Two of the biggest questions that have been asked ever since it was first announced that Elon Musk was looking to buy Twitter and restore free speech to the platform were whether Musk would reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account and whether Trump would subsequently rejoin. Well, with Musk now in possession of Twitter, we would appear to have the answer to the second question.
Fox Business reports that former President Trump has indicated that, even if his account gets restored and even with Musk at the helm, he will not be rejoining Twitter.
Background
Trump was banned from Twitter, as well as numerous other internet platforms, following the Capitol protests of Jan. 6, 2021. The platform claimed that the ban was necessary in order to prevent further violence.
Trump went on to create the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), and, earlier this year, Trump and the TMTG created their own social media site, which is called Truth Social.
When the word got around that Musk was looking to acquire Twitter, specifically to restore free speech to the platform, questions immediately turned to whether Musk would reinstate Trump’s account. When it became clear that Musk likely would, the questions turned to whether Trump would rejoin.
Trump, earlier this year, was asked about this, and, in response, he suggested that he would not be rejoining Twitter, that he would be sticking with Truth Social. And now, with Musk in control of Twitter, it appears that Trump is sticking to his guns.
“I am staying on Truth”
Trump made his intentions known in an interview that he did with Fox News Digital on Friday.
“I want to stay on Truth — Truth is better,” Trump said. “I like it better, it is better to my eye, and last week, it was higher than TikTok. It was number one last week.”
Trump, nonetheless, said, “I like Elon, and I wish him a lot of luck. I hope he does well with it.”
Trump also posted a message on the subject to Truth Social, where he wrote:
TRUTH SOCIAL has become somewhat of a phenomena. Last week it had bigger numbers than all other platforms, including TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and the rest. It also looks and works better to my eye. I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country. Twitter must now work hard to rid itself of all of the bots and fake accounts that have hurt it so badly. It will be much smaller, but better. I LOVE TRUTH!
Is there any chance?
There are over 80 million good reasons why Trump might end up back on Twitter one day should his account be restored. That 80 million figure is the number of followers that Trump had on Twitter before his account was banned. For comparison, Trump only has 4 million followers on Truth Social.
So, if there is one good reason why Trump might end up back on Twitter, particularly if he seeks reelection in 2024, this is it. But, for now, Trump made it clear that he will be sticking with Truth Social.