Elon Musk rejoined Trump on Twitter after polling followers
OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP
Former US President Donald Trump has been banned from Twitter following the attack on the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. It was recently restored by Elon Musk after a simple request on the social network.
United States of America – This time Donald Trump finally won the election. After posting a poll among Twitter users on whether the former US president should be rehabilitated on the social network, the new head of Twitter, Elon Musk, finally reinstated him on the night of Saturday 19th, Sunday, November 20th.
“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated”, the whimsical entrepreneur tweeted after a consultation he organized at his own expense. Over fifteen million accounts responded, of which 51.8% voted “ yes” The Republican politician’s return to the platform after the January 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi vox dei. https://t.co/jmkhFuyfkv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
And the richest man in the world finally rejoiced: “Twitter is live.”
A few minutes after Elon Musk’s message donald trump account reappeared, last tweet, January 8, 2021. The number of followers was initially unstable, then gradually increased, in line with Elon Musk’s promise to restore it to its old status. The former president has 4.57 million followers on the Truth Social network he created after being fired from Twitter.
“You betray our democracy”
Shortly after the $44 billion acquisition of the platform was finalized at the end of October, Elon Musk assured that no major decisions regarding account content or reactivation would be made without the intervention of a special board. The gesture is aimed, among other things, at reassuring advertisers, the group’s main source of income. While he has reinstated several controversial accounts in recent days, he has not made it clear whether the committee has actually been formed.
Although many associations, authorities and advertisers fear that the content is no longer sufficiently moderated on the social network, giving rise to misinformation, harassment and other abuses, the businessman’s turn on the subject was expected. “You betray our democracy”so Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP civil rights organization on Twitter, confirmed that Elon Musk had subscribers. I do not represent America”.
For its part, while Twitter is happy to be with Elon Musk, “ in safe hands », the former president of the United States, in turn, recently confirmed that he will remain on the Truth social network. Even if this platform offers him a small sounding board compared to Twitter, where he has more than 88 million subscribers. ” Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere. Truth Social is special” he started during a video intervention on Saturday.
Celebrations at the Congress
The decision to bring Donald Trump back to Twitter will, in any case, cause a bit more turmoil within a company that has already been severely shaken after being taken over by Elon Musk, who has already embarked on a massive layoff plan.
The allies of the former head of state were happy in the Congress. “Welcome to Donald Trump”, House Republican Paul Gosar tweeted. “ Anyone who thinks President Trump won’t win the 2024 primaries is kidding themselves.”tweeted Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Republican congressman known for her assassination trips.
On the other hand, Republican Liz Cheney, who has become a sworn enemy of Donald Trump, reacted to the news by referencing her Twitter followers to a video showing one of the hearings of the investigative commission launched after the attack. Capitol on January 6, 2021, which he co-chaired. “Since Trump is back on Twitter, Jan. 6 is a good time to watch that hearing”, he tweeted. “ This applies to every one of Trump’s tweets, including those that have been deleted, and shows how several White House officials described his inexcusable behavior during the violence., he added. Among others, it is a sign that the recovery of the former president’s account will cause a lot of ink to flow in the coming days.
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