After being absent from Twitter for nearly two years, former President Donald Trump has managed to get his account back. It is unclear whether he will return permanently.
On Saturday night, Elon Musk announced that Trump’s Twitter account would be restored. Soon after, US Today reported that the former president’s profile was unblocked and his blue check mark had been restored.
This news arrives mere days after Trump announced his plans to run for president again in 2024. He was banned from Twitter due to claims that he encouraged violence during the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol building. However, Musk stated on Saturday night that “the account will be restored.”
Trump, who announced his re-election campaign on Tuesday, said he would not return to Twitter even if invited.
The people have spoken.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
Trump will be reinstated.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei. https://t.co/jmkhFuyfkv
Although Trump has 4.56 million followers on Twitter, this is only a small portion of the 88 million followers he had at one point.
On Friday, Musk took to his personal Twitter account to gauge public opinion on whether or not he should allow Trump back onto the platform. More than 15 million people responded to the survey, though it’s unclear how many of those were verified users or bots. After seeing the results of the poll, Musk announced that Trump’s account would be reinstated.
On Saturday, Trump issued a statement regarding the poll and the likelihood of his account being reinstated. “Please vote affirmatively, but don’t worry– we’re not going anywhere,” Trump said.In referencing the factory that launched it, he added “The social media presence is special!”
He explained virtually at a Republican Jewish Coalition leadership meeting that even though he “always loved” Musk, and is glad to have bought him Twitter, there’s no compelling reason for him to use the platform again.
Trump said that Twitter has a lot of problems.
After Trump and other conservative politicians were cancelled from social media, many Right-wing individuals cried out, alleging that Facebook and other platforms have a hidden liberal agenda.
Last month, after Musk took over the company, he rehired other controversial people and groups, such as right-wing Canadian podcaster Jordan Peterson, far-right satirical website Bubble B, and comedian Kathy Griffin. The latter was suspended from Twitter for impersonating Musk.
