Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will not be returning to Twitter if his account is reinstated, according to a statement he provided to Fox News. Trump’s comments about Twitter come on the same day that the company has announced that it accepted Elon Musk’s offer to acquire the publicly traded company at $54.20/share, valuing the social media platform at $44 billion.
The announcement led to speculation that Trump may return to the social media platform if he is allowed to do so, but it looks like he’s not interested and is instead planning to formally join his own Truth Social platform over the next seven days.
“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth,” Trump told Fox News. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth. The bottom line is, no, I am not going back to Twitter.”
Twitter permanently banned Trump in January 2021 citing concerns over the “risk of further incitement of violence” following the January 6 attack on the capitol. While Trump had previously broken the platform’s rules, the company had maintained his account under its special guidance for world leaders and information in the public interest.
Trump’s comments from today come as shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp, which announced a deal in October to acquire Trump Media & Technology Group, fell 9.5% as Twitter officially announced its deal with Musk. It’s possible that Truth’s shaky start could cause Trump to change his mind about rejoining Twitter down the road.
Trump’s media group released its Truth Social iOS app today in February, but the app remained unavailable to users for quite some time. Truth is being marketed as an alternative to social media giants like Twitter and Facebook. If Trump does end up posting on Truth regularly this week, it will mark the former president’s return to social media following his ban from numerous platforms, including Twitter and Facebook. So far, he’s only posted on Truth once.
As for Twitter, Musk says that “free speech” is key to Twitter’s future. Twitter says the transaction, which was unanimously approved by the board, will likely close this year following shareholder and regulatory approval and “the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.”
How’d we get here, you may ask? Here’s a complete timeline of the Elon Musk-Twitter saga.
