Trump says he isn’t coming back to Twitter, despite Elon Musk unbanning his account
So far it's thanks, but no thanks from Trump. But that may change
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Trump snubs Twitter?
🙅♂️ Trump says he’s not coming back to Twitter, preferring Truth Social
🐦 Cites Twitter’s “problems” like negative engagement, fake accounts
🗳️ Musk’s poll of 15M people ended Saturday; 51.8% favored unbanning Trump
🤥 We’ll see if Trump can resist the lure of 3am tweetstorms to a wider audience
Twitter unbanned Donald Trump after Elon Musk ran a Twitter poll that decided the former President should be allowed back on the social media platform by a slim margin. But, as we reported, that doesn’t mean Trump is going to be tweeting again.
It’s both surprising and unsurprising news. As tweeted by fellow Substack writer Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology:
The 45th President says he’s sticking with Truth Social, his right-wing platform that was created shortly after he was banned from Twitter in January 2021. There are a few reasons for the snub. First, he previously said he wouldn’t come back even if Musk took over Twitter and unbanned @realDonaldTrump account.
Second, Trump cites “a lot of problems at Twitter,” according to Bloomberg picking up the former President’s weekend comments at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas. He’s referring to Twitter’s moderation setbacks, not other recent issues like the fact that there’s no such thing as a free lunch at Twitter and headline-making Twitter firings and layoffs.
Why Trump’s decision may change
Trump sees no reason to come back. Specifically, he cites negative engagement and fake accounts on Twitter as to why he favors Truth Social instead. “Truth Social has been very, very powerful, very, very strong, and I’ll be staying there.”
That’s a lot of “very.”
Musk plans to address both issues Trump is citing. He wants to rid Twitter of bots with his $8/mo Twitter Blue relaunching on November 29 and declared a new “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach” policy while unbanning several controversial accounts. Shadow banning of accounts should be a thing of the past (if it ever existed).
Of course, the allure of getting his message out there to a wider audience (and to broader media that would pick up his tweets) is something he may not be able to avoid over the next two years. Trump declared his third bid for the US Presidency last week and he’ll likely want a Twitter-sized bullhorn headed into the 2024 Republican primaries.