Musk Says Trump Will Be Reinstated On Twitter After Poll Win
Elon Musk has asked his Twitter followers whether former President Donald Trump should be reinstated on the social media site.
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk said he will allow Donald Trump’s Twitter account to be restored after users on the social media website voted 52% to 48% to allow the former president’s return.
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.
Trump’s reinstatement on Twitter is opportune for him politically. The former president officially announced he would run for the White House again in 2024, and Musk has given him a tool to turbocharge his message.
Related story: Trump Makes His 2024 Run Official, Defies Calls to Move On (3)
Musk’s decision also comes at a time of turmoil inside Twitter following massive layoffs and an exodus of top compliance executives that have contributed to a chaotic atmosphere. The developments have sparked rising concern internally about the platform’s vulnerability to security threats and the potential for violations of a consent order with the US Federal Trade Commission, which could lead to fines amounting to billions of dollars.
Trump was permanently banned from Twitter in 2021 “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” following the insurrection at the US Capitol. Earlier this week, he 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 return to Twitter. Trump said earlier Saturday that he sees “a lot of problems at Twitter” and will stick to his own social-media platform, Truth Social.
“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.
Companies that advertise on social media might be leery of damage to their brands if Trump attracts attention with more outrageous tweets. On Oct. 27, Musk posted a note to advertisers seeking to reassure them he doesn’t want Twitter to become a “free-for-all hellscape.”
“Any advertiser still funding Twitter should immediately pause all advertising,” Derrick Johnson, President of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in a statement following Musk’s announcement on reinstating Trump’s account.
--With assistance from and .
(Updates story throughout with details, including statement from the NAACP President)
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