Former President Donald Trump can begin tweeting again following a nearly two-year ban from the social media platform after Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk announced his account was reinstated.
“The people have spoken,” Mr. Musk tweeted Saturday evening, “Trump will be reinstated,” after running a poll on the platform asking users whether Mr. Trump’s Twitter account should be unbanned.
The former president’s profile and blue check mark were restored minutes after the announcement. However, Mr. Trump already made it clear he would communicate through his own social media platform, Truth Social.
On Saturday, Mr. Trump released a statement about the poll and the potential of his Twitter account returning. “Vote now with positivity, but don’t worry, we aren’t going anywhere,” Mr. Trump said. “Truth Social is special!”
Mr. Trump, who appeared by video during a Republican Jewish Coalition leadership meeting Saturday, said that he “always liked” Mr. Musk and was happy that he bought Twitter but does not envision using the platform.
“They have a lot of problems at Twitter,” he said. “You see what’s going on. It may make it, it may not make it, but the problems are incredible.”
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Mr. Trump’s high-profile detractors lashed out at the decision to reinstate his Twitter account.
On Sunday, Rep. Adam Schiff, California Democrat and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, called it “a terrible mistake” to bring Mr. Trump’s account back based on a snap poll that showed support for reinstatement at 52% and opposition at 48%.
“I think it’s a terrible mistake … As we showed in the Jan. 6 hearings, the president used that platform to incite that attack on the Capitol. His comments about the vice president, his own vice president, put Mike Pence’s life in danger. He showed no remorse about that,” Mr. Schiff said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyoming Republican and a member of the House Jan. 6 panel with Mr. Schiff, tweeted Saturday night: “With Trump back on Twitter, it’s a good time to watch this Jan 6 hearing. It covers each of Trump’s tweets that day, including those that have been deleted, and features multiple Trump WH staff describing his inexcusable conduct during the violence.”
Mr. Trump’s Twitter account reactivation comes days after he launched his presidential bid for 2024.
Under Twitter’s previous management, his account was banned for inciting violence during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.
The former president is the most high-profile figure to have his account restored on Twitter since Mr. Musk bought the platform for about $44 billion last month.
Other well-known personalities and organizations had their accounts restored recently. This includes right-wing Canadian podcaster Jordan Peterson, conservative satire site The Babylon Bee and left-wing comedian Kathy Griffin, who was suspended after impersonating Mr. Musk.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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