Former President Donald Trump has made a comeback on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, now called X. This comes after Trump turned himself in at the Fulton County jail on several charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Trump’s return to X marks the first time he has posted on the platform since his permanent ban in January 2021, following the Capitol riots.
Since his ban, Trump has launched his own social media platform called Truth Social, while Twitter has been rebranded as X after being acquired by Elon Musk. In January 2022, it was reported that Trump did not plan to renew his exclusivity contract with Truth Social. However, he posted his mugshot on the platform earlier in the day before his return to X. Prior to this, Trump appeared in a video interview with Tucker Carlson on X, timed with the first GOP 2024 presidential debate.
The decision to reinstate Trump on X came after Elon Musk ran a poll on Twitter asking users if he should bring back Trump’s account. The majority voted in favor of reinstatement, leading Musk to declare that Trump would be allowed back on the platform. Trump cited the success of Truth Social and problems he perceives on Twitter as reasons for not previously returning. However, he encouraged his supporters to vote in favor of reinstatement. Before Trump, Musk had also brought back accounts belonging to The Babylon Bee, Kathy Griffin, and Jordan Peterson.
Trump’s return to X coincided with the release of his real mugshot from the Fulton County jail. In response, his 2024 campaign quickly created an official t-shirt with the caption “NEVER SURRENDER!” This comes after his campaign previously released a t-shirt featuring a fake mugshot following his arrest in April for alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
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