Trump is returning to Twitter, now X, following a 3+ year hiatus. He was banned from the platform following Biden’s inauguration, but was reinstated when Elon Musk acquired Twitter. Needing to capitalize on his social media network, Trump is now returning to the platform.
Trump’s Twitter account was critical to his success in 2016, and put him on the political map even before that. Despite criticisms of the platform from the Left, Twitter/X remains where news is broken by individuals. The Washington Post says:
It’s unclear whether or how much Trump will continue using Musk’s platform, but in a campaign email Monday, the former president stated: “I’m back on X for a short time.” A permanent return to the platform by Trump would be a major win for Musk, who has begun to more actively court a right-wing audience to his platform.
Trump could also widen his audience by shifting to the larger platform, where he has more than 88 million followers compared to only 7.5 million on Truth Social. The same campaign ad posted around the same time on both platforms Monday attracted 172,000 likes on X within two hours, compared with less than 9,000 on Truth Social.
The interview with Musk could prove a boost to Trump, who has been losing steam against a media completely backing Kamala Harris. The Democratic National Convention will take place next week. The Hill continues:
Musk’s reinstatement of Trump’s account in 2022 was part of the billionaire’s new approach to the platform’s content moderation policies after purchasing the company.
The tech mogul endorsed Trump’s reelection bid shortly after the attempted assassination last month and has since levied a series of attacks against Harris.
The Trump campaign has so far performed much better than it did in 2020. It has become a victim of its own success, knocking Biden out of the race early and having to face the more energetic Kamala. The election is currently less than three months out.
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