Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, revealed on Saturday that he was reinstating former President Donald Trump to the social media network, nearly two years after the company suspended him, blaming his role in the Jan. 6 disturbance at the United States Capitol.
The platform’s CEO made the announcement Saturday evening after enabling his Twitter followers and others to vote on whether to reinstate Trump, with roughly 52% of those voting in favor of his return. More than 15 million people voted in the Twitter poll.
Musk tweeted Saturday evening, “The people have spoken.” “Trump will be rehired.”
Trump’s account was quickly restored.
The people have spoken.
Trump will be reinstated.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei. https://t.co/jmkhFuyfkv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
Previous tweets from Trump’s account were accessible after its reactivation, with the most recent being on Jan. 8, 2021, when he announced he would not be attending Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Musk’s decision is undoubtedly his most anticipated since assuming ownership of Twitter on Oct. 27. It comes just four days after Trump declared his intention to run for president in 2024.
Twitter was crucial to Trump’s political rise because it allowed him to broadcast his thoughts, provocations, and insults to millions of fans and critics without the filter of traditional media or anyone else.
