Donald Trump says not interested after Elon Musk restores his Twitter handle

Amid layoffs and mass resignations, Twitter employees which have criticised or corrected Elon Musk publicly on social media have also been fired. But at the same time, the free speech champion is bringing back controversial tweeters such as Jordan Peterson and Cathy Griffin, triggering speculation over Kangana Ranaut’s comeback. But in response to Musk’s much anticipated move to restore Donald Trump’s handle, the former US President has refused to come back to Twitter.

Trump sees no reason for return

Trump’s Twitter account had been banned in January 2021 for incitement of violence, after his supporters stormed the United States Capitol. Back then it had 88 million followers, and after his account was restored, around one lakh followed him again within hours. But when asked about his comeback during a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Trump said he saw no reason to be active on Twitter again.

Finds Truth Social more engaging

Following his ouster from power and Twitter, Trump has founded his own social media platform Truth Social, and wants to stay on it. He has cited better engagement as a reason to stick with Truth Social, and says that it has been doing well. Soon after Trump had announced his candidature for the 2024 US presidential polls, Musk launched a Twitter poll about his reinstatement.

Major changes at Twitter

After 51 per cent people voted in favour of the proposal, Musk restored Donald Trump’s account. Trump’s was one of many other accounts which were restored after being shut for repeated violations, including hate speech and incitement to violence. Popular musician Kanye West has also been brought back to Twitter by Musk, who is considering laying off more employees.

Apart from that an image of before and after Musk’s take over of Twitter has also gone viral, showing how there are very few women in the social media giant’s team now.

Published on: Monday, November 21, 2022, 04:00 PM IST