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Has Donald Trump Given Up on Twitter?

Donald Trump has just 5.2 million followers on Truth Social, compared to 87.1 million on Twitter, despite not having used the latter for nearly two and a half years. 

President Donald Trump. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
President Donald Trump

Why isn’t Donald Trump back on Twitter?: The former president had his Twitter account reinstated last year, he has returned to the other social networks from which he was previously banned, and Marjorie Taylor Greene has asked him to bring back his “mean tweets.” Will @RealDonaldTrump return? 

What is Donald Trump Doing?

Back in January 2021, in the days after the January 6 insurrection, then-President Donald Trump had his accounts banned by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, even after those social media companies had long resisted banning the president. 

In recent months, Trump has returned to those platforms one by one. He posted his first YouTube video in two years in March.

After Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, reinstated Trump following a two-year suspension, the ex-president returned to those platforms as well. 

And while Elon Musk officially reinstated Trump’s account on Twitter after he bought the company in November, putting Trump’s years of tweets back on the platform, Trump has not returned to Twitter, the social media platform with which he is most associated.

Helping Social Truth

The former president has opted to keep his Twitter-style messages to his own social media platform, Truth Social, and has likely determined that returning to Twitter would deprive Truth Social of its primary selling point, as the one place to get Trump’s unfiltered thoughts. In fact, it is extremely rare for any post by a non-Trump user of Truth Social to even make news. 

Some news reports as far back as January were stating that Trump was plotting a return to the platform, but that has not occurred as of yet. According to a report last year, an SEC filing from the parent company of Truth Social states that when Trump makes a post to Truth Social, he cannot post the same thing to any other social network for six hours. 

Trump has said, as recently as November, that he plans to stick with Truth Social. 

“It’s doing phenomenally well. The press hates to talk about it, but it’s doing phenomenally well. I think engagement is much better than it is with Twitter,” the former president told the Republican Jewish Coalition at its November meeting. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), one of Trump’s leading supporters in Congress, declared this week that she really wants to see Trump back on Twitter. 

According to Newsweek, Greene gave a speech over the weekend to the Putnam County Republican Party’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner in Ohio, she wants the former president to return to posting  “mean tweets,” and would “give anything” to see Trump back on Twitter. 

“I would give anything for mean tweets right now, because here’s what I know they come with,” Greene said in the speech, citing a frequent pro-Trump talking point. “They come with world peace, that’s something we had under President Trump. They come with secure strong borders and a border wall that will be finished high, finished long and will be safe for America… Tweets also come with supporting law enforcement and low crime. That’s something we need to have back.”

Greene, who has herself been banned from Twitter in the past, does not appear to see Truth Social as a satisfactory way to get Trump’s messages. 

“It’s time to be America First. That might come with a few mean tweets. And God bless Elon Musk for giving President Trump his Twitter account back because I can’t wait for the first mean tweet,” Greene added. 

In recent months, Trump has used Truth Social similarly to how he used to use Twitter: By taking shots at political opponents — usually Ron DeSantis, these days — pushing his products, and touting poll numbers and positive articles about himself. 

That said, Donald Trump has just 5.2 million followers on Truth Social, compared to 87.1 million on Twitter, despite not having used the latter for nearly two and a half years. 

More: Could Mike Pence Beat Donald Trump in 2024?

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Expertise and Experience

 Stephen Silver is a Senior Editor for 19FortyFive. He is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Written By

Stephen Silver is a journalist, essayist, and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

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