"I'M BACK!" Trump Returns To Social Media, Not On Twitter But Truth Social

Former US President Donald Trump is back on social media. (photo: twitter screenshot)

JAKARTA - Former US president Donald Trump finally posted a short message on Truth Social for the first time Thursday night. This is the first time since the app he founded was launched two months ago.

In that first post the 45th US President, said "I'M BACK!" This further confirms that Trump wants to return to social media. But he did not return to Twitter, the social media platform that had banned him since January 2021.

Trump broke his silence when Elon Musk struck a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter. Twitter last year permanently banned Trump citing the risk of further violence following the January 6, 2021, siege by pro-Trump mobs on the US Capitol.

Republicans welcomed Musk's purchase of social media platform Twitter in hopes that Tesla Inc's chief executive, which has pledged to relax content moderation practices to restore free speech, would invite Trump back to the site.

Since the deal was announced this week, Trump himself has said he will not return to Twitter. He prefers to raise his own Truth Social. This is a business decision that could make the app even more streamlined. Moreover, according to a Reuters report, Truth Social this month became the most downloaded social media by the US public.

In Thursday's message, called the "truth" on the app, Trump wrote, "I'M BACK! #COVFEFE", referring to a typo in a Twitter message he sent as the president complained about the press and memes widely.

Trump's silence on his own apps since the launch of Apple Inc's Truth Social app store on February 21 has raised questions about its long-term viability. But now the public's hope is rekindled if Truth Social will become one of Twitter's future challenges.

Ahead of the release of Truth, his son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a screenshot of his father's Truth Social account with one “truth” he posted on February 14, verified on the @reaDonaldTrump account, with the message: “Get ready! Your favorite president will see you soon!”

Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social, plans to go public via a merger with blank check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp, whose shares were up 7.7% before the market Friday, April 29.

The deal is under the supervision of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and is likely to be finalized in a few months.