Donald Trump Is Back On Twitter, Thanks To Elon Musk

Donald Trump has had his Twitter account reinstated, thanks to Elon Musk. On Saturday, November 19, Musk ran a poll on his Twitter account asking users whether or not the twice-impeached former president should be allowed back on the platform. After more than 15 million votes, 51.8% of people said Trump should return, while 48.2% were against the idea. Later the same day, Musk followed up, writing: “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.” He added the words “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” which translates to “The voice of the people (is) the voice of God.”

  1. Donald Trump received a permanent ban from Twitter for a good reason. He undoubtedly said many offensive and frankly untrue things on the platform. However, it was his incitement of rioting and violence at the Capitol Building by insurrectionists on January 6, 2022 that was the final straw. Trump denied inciting the mob. Nevertheless, it was pretty clear his tweets directly encouraged what happened that day.
  2. Musk has always been against the ban. Talking to NPR in May 2022, Musk indirectly hinted that he would reverse Donald Trump’s Twitter ban. After all, Musk fancies himself a champion of free speech. To that end, he believes people should be able to say what they want on the platform. He has already reinstated Jordan Peterson’s Twitter account. He also welcomed back misogynist Andrew Tate to the platform. No one was truly surprised about Trump.
  3. The new owner of Twitter doesn’t believe in permanent bans at all, really. “Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots or spam, scam accounts. I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump,” Musk said, per Sky News. “I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”
  4. It’s unclear whether Trump will come back to his account. While one would assume he’d be excited to use the platform, which is becoming increasingly conservative, to boost his 2024 presidential campaign, that may not be the case. After all, Trump launched his own social media network, Truth Social, that he’s been trying to promote, reports CNN Business. He may choose to focus on that instead. Time will tell!
Jennifer Still is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience. The managing editor of Bolde, she has bylines in Vanity Fair, Business Insider, The New York Times, Glamour, Bon Appetit, and many more. You can follow her on Twitter @jenniferlstill
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