Former President Donald Trump officially joined Truth Social on Thursday, posting to social media for the first time in more than a year.
SO WHAT
Trump is signaling he’s serious about turning Truth Social into a legitimate alternative to Big Tech social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
WHAT HAPPENED
Trump fired off a short message announcing his return to social media via Truth Social, a company created by Trump Media & Technology Group, a media and technology firm founded by the former president in October 2021.
“I’M BACK! #COVFEFE,” Trump wrote, referencing a 2017 typo that turned into a viral meme.
- On Monday, Trump told Fox News he will not return to Twitter if invited, despite billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s pending acquisition of the company.
- “I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth,” Trump told Fox News. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth.”
- “We’re taking in millions of people, and what we’re finding is that the response on Truth is much better than being on Twitter,” Trump added, sounding undaunted by the app’s rollout issues. “Twitter has bots and fake accounts, and we are doing everything we can.”
SHOULD WE STAY OR SHOULD WE GO?
Musk’s Twitter takeover has many conservatives hoping he will make the platform great again.
- Some even believe Musk could reinstate Trump’s account, which was permanently suspended after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Others on the populist right, though, have warned against going all in for Musk.
- Journalist Raheem Kassam made the case on his blog this week, writing “we must remain on our guard, and we must not abandon the alternative platforms that have been built in recent years. We’re likely to regret it if we do.”
- Meanwhile, Truth and other Twitter alternatives have seen an influx of users.