Elon Musk has reinstated Donald Trump’s Twitter account, after conducting a poll about the former president’s return to the platform.
Musk, who officially bought Twitter last month, asked Twitter users whether Trump’s account should be reactivated, garnering some 15 million respondents. The results of the poll narrowly ruled in favour of lifting Trump’s ban, with 51.8 percent of the 15,085,458 users responding in the affirmative. “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk Tweeted following the poll results.
Shortly afterward, Trump’s previously defunct account reappeared, complete with his previous 59,000 Tweets. Speaking of the unbanning at a press conference over the weekend, Trump didn’t appear too keen on rejoining the site, claiming he “[doesn’t] see any reason for it.” The former president said he’d stick to his own social media platform, Truth Social, which he developed through his Trump Media and Technology Group startup in 2021.
Reinstate former President Trump
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
Trump was first banned from the platform following the pro-Trump attack on the US Capitol early last year, with his posts during the riot deemed “likely to encourage and inspire” violence by Twitter. Trump was then banned from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as a result. Musk, meanwhile, had made his intention to lift Trump’s ban known since the early stages of his Twitter acquisition, saying in May that he would “reverse the permanent ban.”
The people have spoken.
Trump will be reinstated.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei. https://t.co/jmkhFuyfkv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
Trump joined a slew of fellow public figures in having his Twitter account reinstated. Internet personality Andrew Tate — who was banned from the platform in 2017 following extremely misogynistic posts — was welcomed back to the platform over the weekend, alongside the likes of Kanye West and comedian Kathy Griffin. West was blocked last week following a string of anti-Semitic statements, while Griffin was removed for impersonating Musk.
Testing Testing Seeing if my Twitter is unblocked
— ye (@kanyewest) November 20, 2022
Last week, Trump announced his candidacy for president, launching his bid for the White House during a speech at his Mar-a-lago hotel in Florida. Eagle-eyed watchers were quick to point out that Trump’s candidacy had been predicted by The Simpsons, whose writers foresaw Trump’s 2024 run in the season 11 episode of the animated series.
