by Jo Marney
Donald Trump has posted to social media for the first time since his controversial Twitter ban.
The former president made his debut post on his new platform Truth Social, jokingly referring to a famous typo he had made during his presidency:
“IM BACK! #COVFEFE”, posted Trump on Thursday evening in a light-hearted, self-depreciating gag. The post was attached to a photograph of him on a stunning Floridian lawn outside his Mar-a-Lago country club in West Palm Beach.
Before Twitter perma-banned his account, the [then] president had Tweeted a post critical of the media which included the apparent typo. The post received 100,000 retweets and likes before it was deleted, sparking a social media frenzy:
“Despite the constant negative press covfefe,” Trump Tweeted in 2017.
Left-wing social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram made the controversial decision to permanently ban Trump in January 2021 after a handful of his supporters stormed the Capitol Building.
Although Trump had not encouraged the rioters to break into the building, Twitter finally found an excuse to permanently cancel Trump from its platform, insisting that his presence on the site carried “the risk of further incitement of violence” – all the while hypocritically allowing Taliban leaders to post unhindered by any censorship.
Speculation about Trump being able to re-join the Twitter community as free-speech advocate and new owner Elon Musk begins to drain the Twitter swamp has run amok in recent weeks, but in a turn of events Trump made it clear he has no desire to re-instate his account:
I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,” Trump told Fox.
“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.”
Truth Social is a new social media platform launched by The Trump Media & Technology Group last month, and the site has been open for use by the public for four days.
While the New York businessman acknowledges Twitter as potential competition against his new platform, he told Fox he believes the existence of both platforms will provide a positive move for free and open communication:
“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 said.
“Twitter has bots and fake accounts, and we are doing everything we can.
“I think it is good. We want liberty and justice and fairness in our country, and the more we can have open, the better.
He went on to say that Twitter had become ‘boring” as many conservatives had left the platform after his controversial ban, which led to a shutting down of rounded-debate:
“It became boring because there was no interaction. The interaction on TRUTH has been amazing. I want everybody to come over to TRUTH—conservatives, liberals, whatever.”
Embracing the rivalry, Musk hit back at Trump’s new platform.
In a series of Tweets on Wednesday, Musk accused the former left-wing Twitter owners of censoring free speech and pushing Trump to create a new platform:
“Truth Social (terrible name) exists because Twitter censored free speech,” wrote Musk. “Should be called Trumpet instead!” he joked.
Author: Jo Marney
Source: Trending Politics: I’m Back! Trump Posts First Message on New Social Media Platform