Donald Trump Will Not Return To Twitter, Even Though Elon Musk's Polling Supports It

Donald Trump's Twitter account has been restored. (photo: screenshot)

JAKARTA – Donald Trump, on Saturday, November 19 said that he is not interested in returning to Twitter. Even when the majority of account holders on the platform voted in a poll organized by Elon Musk to support the return of the former US president. Trump was previously banned from social media services for inciting violence, during the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.

About more than 15 million Twitter users voted in the poll with 51.8% voting in favor of reinstating Trump's account. "The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated," Musk tweeted.

Trump's Twitter account, which had more than 88 million followers before he was banned on January 8, 2021, began gathering followers and had nearly 100,000 followers by 10 p.m. ET Saturday. Some users initially reported being unable to follow their recovered accounts late Saturday.

But Trump appeared less interested than the previous day. "I see no reason for that," the former president said via video when asked if he plans to return to Twitter by a panel at the annual Republican Jewish Coalition leadership meeting.

He said he would stick with his new platform, Truth Social, an app developed by startup Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which he said had better user engagement than Twitter and was doing "very well".

Twitter did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on Trump's remarks.

Trump, who on Tuesday, November 15 launched his bid to run for president and “take back” the White House in 2024, has praised Musk and said he has always liked him. But Trump also said Twitter was suffering from bots, and fake accounts, and the problems it was facing were "tremendous".

Musk first said in May that he plans to reverse Trump's ban, and the timing of Trump's return is being closely watched and feared by many Twitter advertisers.

Musk has since sought to reassure users and advertisers that any such decision will be made in the light of a content moderation board made up of people with "a wide range of viewpoints" and no account recovery will occur before the board convenes.

He also said Twitter would not reinstate banned users until there was "a clear process for doing so."

But this week, Musk reactivated comedian Kathy Griffin, who has been banned for changing her profile name to "Elon Musk" in violation of her new impersonation rules without indicating it was a parody account. There is no new information about the process or moderation board yet.

Trump's absence could allay concerns among major advertisers, who are already baffled by Musk's drastic revamp of Twitter.

Musk has halved the workforce and greatly reduced the company's trust and security team, which is responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation and harmful content.

This action and Musk's tweets have prompted major companies to stop advertising on sites as they monitor how the platforms handle hate speech.

On Saturday, November 19, Bloomberg reported Twitter could lay off more employees in its sales and partnerships division, citing unnamed sources, just days after the mass layoffs of engineers.

If Trump returns to Twitter, the move will raise questions about his commitment to Truth Social, which launched on Apple's App Store in February and the Google Play Store in October. Trump has about 4.57 million followers on Truth Social.

Truth Social has been Trump's main source of direct communication with his followers since he started posting on the app regularly in May. He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.

His deal with the company has opened the door for Trump to engage broadly on other platforms. Trump is obligated to provide a Truth Social exclusive for six hours on any post, but is free to post "political messages, political fundraisers, or efforts to get a vote" on any site, at any time, according to SEC filings in May.