Elon Musk reinstates Donald Trump’s Twitter account
Elon Musk has allowed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Twitter account to be restored after users on the social media website voted 52% to 48% to allow the former leader’s return.
Trump’s once-blocked account reappeared on the platform Sunday, minutes after company owner Musk announced he was lifting the 22-month suspension on the former president over incitement of violence.
The 24-hour poll garnered more than 15 million votes. Musk earlier reinstated accounts tied to conservative media personality Jordan Peterson and satirical website Babylon Bee.
Earlier this week, Trump formally entered the 2024 US presidential race, making official what he had been teasing for months.
Still, it’s not a done deal that the former president will actually return to using the social media platform. Trump said earlier Saturday that he sees “a lot of problems at Twitter” and will stick to his own social-media platform.
“I hear we’re getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don’t see it because I don’t see any reason for it,” Trump told the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting in Las Vegas via video link. “It may make it, it may not make it.”
Musk has a history of polling his followers on everything from an edit button for Twitter, to selling shares in Tesla Inc. and even whether politicians or billionaires are more trustworthy.