After no posts on X—fka Twitter—in almost a year, former Republican President Donald Trump—or someone from his team—returned to post a question his campaign will probably regret asking.
The new flurry of posts that followed included a couple of campaign ads and hype about Trump’s upcoming interview with X owner Elon Musk.
Trump’s first X post in almost a year said:
"Are you better off now than you were when I was president?"
"Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We're a nation in decline."
"Make the American Dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT Again!"
The proper spelling, grammar and limited use of capitalization led many to theorize the post came from Trump’s campaign staff and not the 2024 GOP presidential candidate. With his popularity waning, Trump's campaign is hoping that aligning with Musk will give his flagging poll numbers a much-needed boost.
The post and campaign video regurgitated Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign which also asked:
"Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
While Reagan’s use of the question came after the Iran embassy hostage crisis and gas shortages of the late 1970s, Trump’s comes after a strong economic recovery and record-low unemployment under Biden.
As evidenced by the responses to his question.
@krassenstein/X
@DogginTrump/X
Trump's last post was on August 24, 2023, when he shared his Fulton County Georgia mugshot.
Trump was banned from Twitter—citing his use of social media to incite violence—following the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol.
Shortly after buying Twitter, Elon Musk reinstated Trump and several other banned users like Alex Jones to the platform in November 2022. Jones, however, managed to get himself banned again.
@WhiteHouse/X
@HomelandSecurityDems