With Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter imminent on Monday, many were wondering whether former President Donald Trump would be rejoining the social media platform.
Twitter banned Trump in January 2021, claiming he had violated its “glorification of violence” policy in the wake of the Capitol incursion. The company said the then-president was permanently suspended “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”
But Musk’s plans to make Twitter private and a platform for free speech led to speculation about whether Trump would be reinstated — and whether he would want to return.
Musk has branded himself as an advocate for free speech and said that is driving his move to own Twitter.
In March, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO tweeted that he was a “free speech absolutist.”
As he began accumulating shares of Twitter, he tweeted a poll last month that said, “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?”
Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
With a free speech proponent running the company, it seems a strong possibility that Twitter would end Trump’s “permanent” ban.
Democrats fear that Musk buying Twitter means Trump’s account will be restored.
Republicans fear that Musk buying Twitter means Trump’s account will be restored.
— Alex Salvi (@alexsalvinews) April 14, 2022
Amid reports of Musk’s impending purchase of the platform on Monday, House Republicans urged him to have the former president return.
“Hey, @elonmusk it’s a great week to free @realDonaldTrump,” the House Republican Conference, which currently represents 209 lawmakers, tweeted.
Hey, @elonmusk it’s a great week to free @realDonaldTrump.
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) April 25, 2022
But those hoping to see Trump again firing off tweets about his political opponents shouldn’t get their hopes up.
The former president indicated earlier this month that he has no plans to return to Twitter after starting his own social media platform, Truth Social.
“We’re doing a big platform right now, so I probably wouldn’t have any interest,” he said in an April 13 interview with Americano Media.
“You know, Twitter’s become very boring. They’ve gotten rid of a lot of their good voices on Twitter — a lot of their conservative voices,” he added.
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Truth Social began its rollout in February, promising a “‘Big Tent’ social media platform that encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology.”
“If you look at Truth Social, where we continue to grow every single day, even though we’re just barely in the testing phase, we continue to prove out the process and focus on our quality and reliability,” Devin Nunes, the former GOP congressman who became CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group, told Just the News this month.
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“Truth Social is already getting massive engagement by the users that we’ve let on so far,” he said.
Musk’s deal to buy Twitter was being finalized on Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“The two sides worked through the night to hash out a deal that would be valued at $54.20 a share, or $44 billion,” it reported, citing “people familiar with the matter.”
“Assuming there isn’t a last-minute snag, the deal is expected to be announced after the market closes Monday, if not sooner,” the report said.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
