Supporters of former RepublibaPresident Donald Trump are urging billionaire Elon Musk to reinstate Trump's Twitter account after Musk disclosed a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter that makes him the company's largest shareholder.
Prominent conservatives appeared emboldened by the news, particularly because Musk had questioned Twitter's content moderation rules in the days before his disclosure. News outlets also reported this morning that Musk would join Twitter's board of directors, a move that potentially broadens his influence over the platform and its policies.
Twitter banned Trump from its platform in the days following the events of January 6, the day a mob of Trump's supporters attacked the nation's seat of government on the false premise that the 2020 general election had been stolen.
In a statement at the time, Twitter noted that a "close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them" contributed to the company's decision to permanently suspend his account.
Ned Segal, Twitter's Chief Financial Officer, later stressed that the ban will remain in effect even if Trump does run for office again, a statement that came amid concerns that allowing Trump back on the platform at any point could further incite violence.
But despite these facts, conservatives like Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert and anti-Islam activist Brigitte Gabriel feel that Musk, who has indicated stronger support for Trump over the last year, can fulfill a major item on their wish list.
Now that @ElonMusk is Twitter\u2019s largest shareholder, it\u2019s time to lift the political censorship.\n\nOh\u2026 and BRING BACK TRUMP!— Lauren Boebert (@Lauren Boebert) 1649074221
Great job Elon Musk!\n\nNow reinstate President Trump!!— Brigitte Gabriel (@Brigitte Gabriel) 1649098813
Fascinating. Would be epic if Musk forced Twitter to let Trump back on, although to be honest, Trump might not want to. Would dilute his value and power with Truth Social.https://twitter.com/mzhemingway/status/1510951017965400073\u00a0\u2026— Ned Ryun (@Ned Ryun) 1649074212
Hey Elon Musk, here is my twitter Wishlist:\n-Add an edit button\n-Bring bring back vine\n-Reinstate Donald Trumps account and all banned political accounts\n-Get Rid of timeline homepage algorithms— Harrison Krank (@Harrison Krank) 1649163563
Elon Musk doesn't need to be a crusader for free speech to push Twitter to reinstate Donald Trump. He just needs to be a good shareholder, as it would profit Twitter greatly to bring Trump back.— Eric Sammons (@Eric Sammons) 1649163693
BREAKING: ELON MUSK is now on TWITTER\u2019s BOARD OF DIRECTORS. \n\nLooking forward to seeing President DONALD TRUMP REINSTATED!— Omar Navarro (@Omar Navarro) 1649167827
Others have pushed back against the suggestion and noted that Trump created a social media platform of his own.
I see that right-twitter is now imploring/demanding Elon Musk to reinstate various bad online actors such as Alex Jones, Donald Trump, Voldemort, etc.— Mark Pitcavage (@Mark Pitcavage) 1649110048
The Trumpers saying Musk should bring Trump back to Twitter have no idea how anything works. Musk bought stock but that doesn't make him a dictator. The Board elected to ban Trump, and then Jack Dorsey stamped it.— T.J. "White Fang" Bryce (@T.J. "White Fang" Bryce) 1649165511
Anyone who thinks that Elon Musk would want to bring Trump back to Twitter for any other reason than that it's going to make his newly acquired stake worth much more hasn't been paying attention.— Rex Zane (@Rex Zane) 1649166364
With all the MAGAs celebrating the Elon Musk news today because they think he will use his clout to reinstate Trump\u2019s twitter account, it suddenly occurred to me that, to them, it will now be Musk\u2019s fault every day that he remains banned.— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1649118450
Why are conservatives asking Elon Musk to bring Trump back to Twitter? I thought they said they were leaving this site for Truth Social.— Richard Nellis came to laugh at The Fandom Menace (@Richard Nellis came to laugh at The Fandom Menace) 1649164997
Trump has often accused Twitter of limiting prominent conservative voices on its platform.
In 2018, while still in office, he claimed that Twitter is "SHADOW BANNING prominent Republicans" in response to a news story that alleged accounts owned by Republicans were showing up in a general search of the website but not automatically populating when typing their names in the drop-down bar.
Twitter later issued a response, attributing the issue to a platform bug.
To combat this, Trump has attempted to launch a social media platform of his own. The platform, Truth Social, promises "open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology." It is part of the new Trump Media Technology Group (TMTG).
Trump was widely mocked after news outlets reported that Truth Social's terms of service include a clause stating that users may not "disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site." The platform was hacked within hours of going live.
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