Elon Musk did what he has been hinting at since he took over the reins of Twitter. Musk on Saturday lifted the ban on Donald Trump and reinstated his Twitter account after a slim majority voted in favor of the former President in a poll organized by Twitter's new owner to bring him back on the social media platform.
However, Trump appears to lost almost 90 million followers account and will have to start from scratch. That said, he gained more than 2 million followers, hours after his Twitter account was reinstated. This comes days after Trump announced his run for the 2024 presidential elections.
Trump Back on Twitter
Musk started a poll on Friday asking people to vote for or against Trump's Twitter ban.
"The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated," tweeted Trump. "Vox Populi, Vox Dei," Musk added, a Latin phrase that roughly means "the voice of the people is the voice of God."
"Fascinating to watch Twitter Trump poll!" Musk, the controversial and feisty new owner of the one-to-many messaging app, tweeted earlier on Saturday morning.
Trump appears to have lost over 89 million followers since he was banned from the social media platform. However, he managed to gain more than 2.3 million followers within hours of being reinstated on the platform, growing to well over 9 million followers six hours later.
This comes as Trump on Tuesday announced he was running for president once again in 2024.
Trump was an incessant tweeter who used the platform as his main means of communication both while running for president and once in office before he was blocked.
His tweets influenced the markets, dictated the news cycle, and influenced Washington's agenda.
The decision lifts a ban that has prevented the former president from using the social media platform ever since a pro-Trump mob invaded the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, just as Congress was about to confirm Joe Biden's electoral victory.
Trump Unfazed
Musk's controversial decision to reinstate Trump's account comes just three weeks after he paid $44 billion to purchase the social network platform. However, Trump is unlikely to return to Twitter. "I don't see any reason for it," he had said earlier.
On Saturday too he appeared less than keen to return to the platform. He said he would instead concentrate on his Truth Social app. "I don't see any reason for it," Trump said via video when asked whether he planned to return to Twitter by a panel at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership meeting on Saturday.
"I do like him... you know, he's a character and again, I like characters," Trump said of Musk.
"He did put up a poll and it was very overwhelming... but I have something called... Truth Social."
Trump announced that he would remain with his new platform, the app created by his firm, which he claimed was performing "phenomenally well" and had higher user interaction than Twitter.
Trump has around 4.57 million followers on his Truth Social platform.
Trump's primary source of direct communication with his supporters has been Truth Social since he started posting often on the app in May. Trump has used Truth Social to support his allies, lambast adversaries, and defend his reputation in the face of legal investigation from state, congressional, and federal investigators.
On Saturday, Trump released a statement regarding the survey and his potential for reinstatement. "Vote now with positivity, but don't worry, we aren't going anywhere,' Trump said. 'Truth Social is special!" he said.
His agreement with the company, however, opens the door for Trump to engage extensively on other platforms. Trump is obligated to give Truth Social a six-hour exclusive on any post - but is free to post "political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the vote efforts" on any site, at any time, according to a May SEC filing.
