Status: 05/11/2022 02:48 am
If Elon Musk were to buy Twitter, it would open the door for Donald Trump to return to the platform. The ex-president has already said that he is not interested – but with a view to a possible renewed candidacy in 2024, he could use Twitter well.
Ex-President Donald Trump may have hopes of returning to Twitter in time for the 2024 White House race. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is in the process of taking over Twitter, would let Trump back on the platform.
The decision to ban Trump was “morally wrong and just plain stupid,” Musk said in a video interview at a Financial Times event.
Trump was banned from Twitter after expressing sympathy for his supporters who stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. In the preceding weeks, Trump had fueled sentiment with baseless claims that an election win against Joe Biden was stolen through fraud.
Trump only failed with a lawsuit over the weekend
Trump recently said he didn’t want to go back to Twitter, even if he could. However, the presence on the platform, where he once had more than 80 million followers, could be important for a possible candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.
It was only at the weekend that he suffered a defeat in court with a lawsuit against his expulsion. Trump used Twitter very actively to mobilize his supporters and create atmosphere. He is currently trying to set up his own social media platform Truth Social, which is struggling with start-up problems.
Musk against permanent bans from Twitter
Facebook also blocked Trump in January 2021 – but wants to check for a recovery of his account in early 2023. Musk said Trump’s ban on Twitter was a mistake because a large segment of the US public didn’t agree with it. And it didn’t mean that the ex-president was no longer able to make himself heard.
At the same time, he made it clear that he fundamentally considered permanent bans from the platform to be wrong, but would not tolerate everything. “If there are tweets that are false and bad, they should either be deleted or made invisible – and a temporary ban is appropriate.”
White House responds
“I would say it’s a private company’s decision as to who gets allowed on their platforms and who doesn’t,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in response to a question about Musk’s announcement. The aim of the Biden administration is to ensure and protect freedom of expression across the country. But online platforms should not be used as forums for disinformation, said Psaki. “And we’ve seen that not only on Twitter in the past, but also on Facebook.”
It will be some time before it becomes clear whether Musk will actually get Twitter. The boss of the electric car manufacturer Tesla agreed with the Twitter board of directors on a deal worth around 44 billion dollars, but is still dependent on enough shareholders wanting to cede their shares to him. Twitter and Musk aim to complete the acquisition by the end of the year.
Musk: Trump’s ban from Twitter was ‘foolish and stupid’
Marcus Schuler, ARD Los Angeles, May 11, 2022 5:48 a.m