Former US President Donald Trump
Former US President Donald Trump has come out to say that he won’t be coming back to Twitter even if the ban on his account gets lifted. His comment came shortly after Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s buyout deal of $54.20 per share or a collective amount of $44 billion.
Donald Trump got banned from Twitter for allegations surrounding inciting violence. His account was “permanently suspended… due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said.
Elon Musk is a strong advocate for free speech on Twitter and even though his definition doesn’t sit well with small groups of people, his desire to make Twitter a platform that encourages free speech, as well as a true democracy, was what pushed him to buy the company. “It’s just really important that people have the, both the reality and the perception that they are able to speak freely within the bounds of the law,” he said while speaking at the TED2022 conference.
Under Elon Musk, accounts that have been permanently suspended from Twitter could be reinstated. The possibility, however, doesn’t excite some.
“No, I won’t be going back on Twitter. I will be on Truth Social within the week. It’s on schedule. We have a lot of people signed up. I like Elon Musk. I like him a lot. He’s an excellent individual. We did a lot for Twitter when I was in the White House. I was disappointed by the way I was treated by Twitter. I won’t be going back on Twitter,” Donald Trump said.
Donald Trump started his social media company called Truth social months after he got banned from Twitter back in January 2021. Trump who had over 80 million followers on the platform was kicked out after the January 6th riot so that he couldn’t incite violence, Twitter said.
Donald Trump’s Truth Social launched in February on Apple’s App Store and garnered over 170,000 downloads on the app store within 24 hours of its launch.
Before deciding on buying Twitter, Elon Musk hugely criticized the platform and even mentioned plans to start his own social media company that would allow and push for free speech. Elon Musk opines that social media is a powerful tool that shouldn’t be underestimated.