Former US President Donald Trump may be returning to Twitter. Elon Musk, the new owner of the platform, says so. Trump was banned from Twitter after his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Musk previously posted a poll on his Twitter account about whether Trump would return to the social media platform. In the 24 hours that the poll was online, just over 15 million users voted. 51.8% voted in favour. 48.2% would prefer Trump to stay away from Twitter.
“The people have spoken. Trump is reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk wrote on Twitter. The Latin phrase he used means “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Trump, who recently confirmed his participation in the 2024 presidential election, indicated on Saturday that he might not want to return to Twitter. He probably he sticks to his Truth Social platform. “Twitter has a lot of problems,” he said in a video message at a rally by the conservative Republican Jewish Coalition group in Las Vegas.
Twitter said it kicked Trump from the platform last year “due to the risk of further incitement to violence” after his supporters stormed the US parliament. They tried to prevent the ratification of the presidential election results, won by Joe Biden. In May of this year, a San Francisco judge rejected his lawyers’ claim that the ban violated free speech.
Trump had more than eighty million Twitter followers. There are only a few million on Truth Social and that platform is also struggling with financial problems.
