Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, made his return to the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, on Thursday. His post featured a mug shot taken during his booking earlier that day at Fulton County Jail in Georgia. In an appeal for donations, Trump resumed his direct engagement with the public on a platform that had previously banned him after the January 6 Capitol riots perpetrated by some of his supporters. On November 19, the app reversed its stance under the ownership of Elon Musk, who has championed “free speech” since acquiring the platform on October 2.
When Trump was banned, he had amassed over 88 million followers. His Thursday post, which read “ELECTION INTERFERENCE! NEVER SURRENDER!”, quickly gained traction, accumulating more than 14 million views within 50 minutes of being shared.
Trump’s account was suspended permanently in January 2021 due to concerns about potential encouragement of further violence following the Capitol attack.
Throughout his presidency and beyond, Trump utilized Twitter and other social media outlets to assert that his defeat in the 2020 election resulted from widespread voter fraud and to disseminate various conspiracy theories.
On November 15, Trump announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
Days prior, he decided to skip a Republican primary debate on Fox News, instead participating in a concurrent interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on X, which attracted millions of viewers. This 46-minute exchange had garnered close to 250 million views by Thursday night.
On Thursday evening, Trump broke from his previous commitment to communicate solely through his new platform, Truth Social, which is operated by his startup, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). As of Thursday, he had 6.4 million followers on Truth Social.
Since regularly posting on Truth Social since May, the former president has used the platform to endorse allies, criticize political opponents, and defend himself amidst growing legal troubles.
A year ago, TMTG announced plans to go public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a special-purpose acquisition company. This merger aimed to provide TMTG with $1.3 billion in cash but is now uncertain due to ongoing investigations by the Department of Justice and the SEC, which have stalled the deal’s finalization.
Trump’s firm faces a critical deadline, as DWAC shareholders must vote by 10 am local time on September 5 to extend the timeline for completing the merger. If a favorable vote is not secured, the SPAC will disband on September 8.
In 2021, Trump filed a lawsuit against Twitter, contending that his suspension violated his First Amendment rights. A federal judge in California dismissed the lawsuit, and the case is set for review by a federal appeals court in Pasadena on October 4. Trump’s legal team maintains that his claims remain relevant and warrant consideration by the appellate court, despite his return to X.
