Trump says he has no plans to rejoin Twitter after Musk deal

Former President Donald Trump stated Monday that he has no intention of rejoining Twitter even when his account is reinstated following Elon Musk’s settlement to purchase the social media big for roughly $44 billion.

Trump advised Fox News that he’ll as a substitute concentrate on his personal platform, Truth Social, which has been mired in issues since its launch earlier this 12 months.

“I am not going on Twitter. I am going to stay on Truth,” Trump was quoted telling the community. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth.”

Trump was barred from main social media platforms after the lethal Jan. 6 riot, with Twitter citing the “risk of further incitement of violence.” The choice denied him the megaphone he had used to generate media consideration and converse on to his followers, which had been integral to his political rise.

At the time, the previous president had roughly 89 million followers on Twitter alone.

Musk, the world’s wealthiest particular person and a self-described free-speech absolutist, had stated he wished to purchase and privatize Twitter as a result of he believed it wasn’t dwelling as much as its potential as a free speech platform. It raised questions on whether or not he may reinstate Trump’s account as the previous president lays the groundwork for an additional White House run in 2024.

Trump has continued to unfold lies about his 2020 election defeat in speeches and statements since leaving workplace, and it’s unclear how Musk would strategy these statements if Trump had been ever to return to the positioning.

In latest weeks, Musk has voiced a lot of proposed modifications for the corporate, together with stress-free its content material restrictions, and stated he could be “very reluctant” to delete content material and cautious of everlasting bans.

After being kicked off social media platforms, Trump launched his personal social media app and sued Twitter, Facebook and Google’s YouTube, claiming he and different conservatives had been wrongfully censored, although posts by conservative commentators are routinely essentially the most broadly shared.

On Monday, he stated he welcomed Musk’s buy and advised Fox News he didn’t see Twitter as his personal product’s competitors.

“Truth Social will be a voice for me,” he stated. “And that’s something nobody else can get.”

At a rally in Ohio on Saturday, Trump additionally urged his supporters to hitch him on Truth Social.

“Go out and sign up now,” he advised them. “Have a lot of fun.”