It looks like former US President Donald Trump is preparing to return to his once favorite social media platform, Twitter, or as it is now known, X. According to a report published in Bloomberg, there are many signals for this return.
Trump has shared almost 57 thousand times throughout his life on Twitter, now called X. Routinely speaking his mind via the social media platform dozens of times a day during his four years in the White House, the former US President used the service to advance his policies, interact with fans, and most importantly, attack and belittle his enemies.
But since he was banned from Twitter following the riots at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 (this ban was rescinded by new owner Elon Musk in November 2022), Trump has made only a single post. This was his mugshot taken after he was arrested in the city of Atalanta due to allegations that he conspired to change the 2020 election results. There has been no interaction on X from Trump since then.
Trump will compete for the US Presidency in the election to be held next November. There are various signs that the former president, who will spend the summer months with an intense campaign, is preparing to revive his @RealDonaldTrump account.
The first, and most obvious, came last week with the news that Trump will appear in a public meeting-style interview to air on X later this year, as part of the company's shift to live, professionally produced video. Trump is expected to take questions from X users, a person familiar with the deal told Bloomberg. It is also included in the information that at least one of the moderators will be an “expert user of X”.
Broadcasting an interview is not the same as posting on X. But agreeing to join what X executives describe as “The People's Square” shows a thaw between Donald Trump and the platform's management.
It is also noteworthy that Trump appears to be getting closer to Musk, the owner of X, and his staff of friends and advisors. Many of them, including Musk's close friend David Sacks, hosted a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco on Thursday night. This is described as a public display of support from people known to be Musk's eyes and ears.
Musk has not directly supported Trump. But he clearly showed his disdain for Trump's rival, US President Joe Biden. Although a report in The Wall Street Journal last week stated that Musk was talking about taking on an advisory role in the White House if Trump wins the election, Musk denied this.
Truth Social is no obstacle to Donald Trump
One thing believed to be holding Trump back from posting on X is Trump's “exclusivity mandate” with his own social network, Truth Social. According to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission; That agreement requires Trump to wait six hours after posting something on Truth Social before posting it on another social media site.
However, there is a way to bypass this article if Donald Trump wishes. This only applies to “non-political” posts. If he wants to talk politics, he can talk wherever and whenever he wants. “As a presidential candidate, most or all of President Donald J. Trump's social media posts may be considered by him to be politically connected,” Truth Social's parent company said in a securities filing in April, and that issue has been resolved.