(The Center Square) Billionaire Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, sparked controversy over the weekend for reinstating former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. So far, though, Trump hasn’t posted on the social media website.
Musk made the decision after conducting a Twitter poll using his personal account. The results came in at 51.8% saying yes to Musk’s question, “reinstate former President Trump,” after 15,085,458 votes. Musk said 134 million people saw the poll.
“The people have spoken,” Musk wrote on Twitter. “Trump will be reinstated.”
Trump’s tweets helped him dominate the news cycle during the 2016 presidential campaign but also came at a price, with many Americans growing weary of his incendiary comments. Trump was permanently removed from several social media sites after the Jan. 6 protests at the Capitol building.
Trump, who recently announced he is running again for president, posted a screenshot of Musk’s Twitter poll on his social media site, TruthSocial. He has 87.4 million followers on Twitter.
“Vote now with positivity, but don’t worry, we aren’t going anywhere,” he wrote. “Truth Social is special!”
Musk’s decision drew backlash from many on the platform, though Musk has responded coyly to a range of criticisms since taking the helm of Twitter.
Musk posted on Twitter about Trump’s decision to so far to resist the “temptation” to tweet. Whether he will continue to hold off remains to be seen.
And lead us not into temptation … pic.twitter.com/8qNOXzwXS9
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2022
The reactivation of Trump’s Twitter account further roiled some on the Left who have pushed the past 22 months pushing a false narrative that Trump was responsible for soliciting violence during the Jan. 6 uprising.
His tweets, which reappeared as if from a time capsule, directly contradicted those claims.
I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2021
