Donald J. Trump announced his return to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday morning, marking a significant win for Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, who has been encouraging the former president to return for months.
ENJOY! pic.twitter.com/un0WwfJlpw
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2024
In the post Elon Musk replied, “Welcome Back Mr Trump..”
Welcome back MrTrump
I’m excited for more good tweets
(Actually they are called posts now)
— Elon Musk (Parody) (@ElonMuskAOC) August 12, 2024
In a campaign video posted on his account, Trump declared, “They want to silence me because I will never let them silence you. They’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”
This video was shared ahead of a scheduled interview with Elon Musk on X’s Spaces, a live-streaming feature, set for 8 p.m. Eastern on Monday. Trump followed up with several posts, including one that read, “Are you better off now than you were when I was president? Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We’re a nation in decline.”
Entertainment guaranteed! https://t.co/5oR7YLVQr6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2024
Trump’s reappearance on X after nearly a year could bring a much-needed boost to the platform, which has been facing stiff competition from emerging social media sites, including Trump’s own Truth Social. X has also struggled with advertisers’ skepticism, particularly after Musk’s recent lawsuit against an influential advertising group.
Trump was banned from the platform, then called Twitter, in 2021 after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, trying to stop the election certification. Twitter determined that Trump’s posts incited violence, leading to the suspension of his account, which had 88 million followers at the time.
