On Thursday, the former president made a comeback to the social networking platform X, formerly known as Twitter, with a post that included a photo of his booking photo from the Fulton County Jail in Georgia earlier in the day.
With his message for funds, Trump regained direct access to the public on the website that had previously blocked him after his supporters’ attack on Congress on January 6, 2021.
The San Francisco-based app changed its stance on Nov. 19 under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist” who purchased Twitter on Oct. 2.
Electoral interference! Trump, who had more than 88 million followers before Twitter banned him, uploaded a picture of the mug shot on Thursday. NEVER GIVE UP. In the first 50 minutes after being online, the post received more than 14 million views.
In January 2021, Twitter permanently disabled Trump’s account due to the danger of further inciting violence in the wake of the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
He shared other conspiracy theories on Twitter and other social media sites, claiming that his loss in the 2020 election was the result of massive voter fraud.
Trump announced his campaign to win the presidency back in 2024 on November 15.
On Wednesday, Trump chose not to participate in a Republican primary discussion on Fox News (FOXA.O), which attracted millions of viewers to a competing interview on X.
According to the website’s statistics as of Thursday night, the 46-minute conversation with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has received roughly 250 million views.
On Thursday night, Trump reneged on a promise to keep solely to Truth Social, the app created by his business Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). As of Thursday, Trump has 6.4 million Truth Social followers.
Truth Social has been Trump’s main source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting on the app regularly in May. The former president has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize his opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.
A year ago, TMTG announced a deal to go public by merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The deal – which would infuse TMTG with $1.3 billion in cash – is now in doubt amid investigations by the Department of Justice and SEC, which have delayed its closing.
Trump’s company faces a crucial deadline when shareholders of DWAC have until 10 a.m., Sept. 5 to vote to extend the period of time DWAC has to complete its merger with TMTG. If DWAC does not get the votes, the SPAC will liquidate on Sept. 8.
Trump sued Twitter in 2021 over his suspension from the platform, arguing the move violated his right to freedom of speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
A U.S. judge in California dismissed the case, and a federal appeals court in Pasadena, California, is set to take up the dispute on Oct. 4. Attorneys for Trump have said his claims are still viable, and can be ruled on by the appeals court, despite his reinstatement to the platform.
