Amid discussion that former President Donald Trump may return to Twitter as part of his 2024 campaign for the presidency, Twitter owner Elon Musk is worried that the ripple effects could seriously rock Twitterâs boat.
Recently, an anonymous Republican source close to Trump told NBC News that Trumpâs return to Twitter is likely imminent. The report said Trump is seeking to return to Facebook as well. Both social media platforms banned Trump after the Capitol incursion in 2021.
Musk referenced the speculation in a tweet on Wednesday.
âWill be interesting to see how the Biden administration reacts to this. They may try to weaponize Federal agencies against Twitter,â Musk wrote. He did not provide specifics.
However, in multiple releases dubbed the âTwitter Files,â journalists given access to inside Twitter documents have shown a pattern of government efforts to use its clout to influence what was posted on the social media platform. One commentator said that could happen again.
âIn all, the âTwitter Filesâ paint a picture of a wide-ranging federal effort to exert control over the editorial policies of a major media company. The feds might be doing the same at other social media companies, such as Facebook and YouTube. And since the U.S. government has the power to make things very unpleasant for companies that resist, the temptation to comply may prove irresistible,â Hiawatha Bray wrote for the Boston Globe.
âItâs all in the name of protecting us from fake news. But when our political leaders set the terms of permissible debate, how will we protect ourselves from them?â Bray continued.
Musk restored Trumpâs Twitter account on Nov. 19, but at the time, Trump said he would continue using his Truth Social platform and had no immediate plan to begin tweeting again.
However, on Wednesday, Trump representative Liz Harrington hinted that a return could be in the cards, according to the Epoch Times.
Speaking on the NTD-Epoch Times show âNewsmakersâ she hedged a bit at first.
âWeâll have to see what happens,â she said. âIâm not here to make any announcement as of yet.â
She then gave a plug for Truth Social while noting that Twitter could have a use.
âWe do know that Truth Social is doing incredibly well. Thereâs no shadow banning, thereâs no censorship, thereâs really hardly any bots on the platform. Itâs a great platform for free speech. But we will see if going to return to Twitter and use it as an asset for the campaign,â she said.
âI think the more platforms, the better, the more open and free they are, and it is important to reach masses of audiences. Nobody has done it better than President Trump than the way heâs skillfully used not just Twitter but now launching Truth Social, which has been really such a success and important platform to have more voices involved, so that will continue,â she said.
As for possible threats against Twitter, Harrington said the âTwitter Filesâ revealed that the First Amendment âhas been under attack.â
âThatâs something thatâs so unacceptable. I think the more speech, the better,â she said.
She said Trump will fight censorship.
âPresident Trump has already laid out his plan to curb the censorship regime â which is exactly what it is â and heâs going to be continuing to make steps to end that as well. We canât have First Amendment if half the country is not able to speak freely,â Harrington said.
âItâs even more so than that, itâs not even a right or left issue. Itâs an issue with all types of censorship on all type of viewpoints that are deemed âinappropriateâ by the censorship regime. That is very unhealthy for the Constitutional Republic. It violates our constitutional rights,â she said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
