Nearly two years after the business suspended him, citing his role in the Jan. 6 brawl at the U.S. Capitol, Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, announced on Saturday that he was reinstating former President Donald Trump to the social media network.
After enabling his Twitter followers and others to vote on whether to reinstate the former president, the platform’s CEO made the announcement Saturday night. Nearly 52% of those who cast ballots supported Trump’s reinstatement. More than 15 million people voted in the Twitter poll.
On Saturday night, Musk tweeted, “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.”
Trump’s account was reinstated soon after.
The most recent tweet from Trump’s account, which stated that he would not be attending Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 8, 2021, was visible once his account was reinstated.
Since he took over Twitter on Oct. 27, Musk’s decision is undoubtedly the one that people are most looking forward to. It happens four days after Trump declared his intention to run for office in 2024.
Trump’s use of Twitter, which allowed him to communicate with millions of supporters and detractors without the interference of the mainstream media or anybody else, was crucial to his political ascent.
Additionally, he tweeted or shared several incorrect and misleading claims, ranging from Covid treatments to Antifa conspiracies.
Other times, he used his account to target those who he felt weren’t being loyal enough, including the media, Democrats, and Republicans.
At the time of the suspension, Trump had 88.8 million followers on the social media platform.
The decision heralds a change in strategy for Twitter, which has recently shifted from embracing unrestrained free speech to acting more forcefully against abuse, harassment, false information, and incitement for violence.
Although he wrote shortly after the takeover that the network “clearly cannot become a free-for-all hellscape,” Musk has stated he will relax Twitter’s regulations.
Trump’s comeback also occurs at a time when there are more expectations that he and other Republicans would continue to make false or deceptive allegations about election fraud, as Trump frequently did before he lost his account.
Musk runs a risk by deciding to welcome Trump back because it puts him in a position where he may be held responsible for Trump’s actions in the future and any possible calls for violence.
