It has barely been 24 hours since Elon Musk completed the purchase of Twitter, and already many people on the right are demanding that Donald Trump be allowed back on the platform. Trump was kicked off Twitter in January 2021 due to bogus allegations that he incited the riot that occurred on January 6th in the Capitol. But I’m here to tell you that regardless of the circumstances, Trump should not go back to using Twitter.
Sure, Trump returning to Twitter sounds like a good idea, but it really isn’t. That said, Trump’s account does have a very good chance of being restored now. Musk did say earlier this year he would reverse Twitter’s permanent ban of former President Donald Trump if his purchase of the social media platform went through.
“I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice,” Musk said. “So I think this may end up being frankly worse than having a single forum where everyone can debate. I guess the answer is that I would reverse the permanent ban.”
As of Friday morning, Trump’s account is still suspended, but it seems inevitable that Musk will unban Trump eventually, even if it is not his first priority. However, even if Trump is able to get his account back, it would be a terrible idea for him to return to the platform that had previously shunned him—and this holds true even with Musk at the helm.
Trump has been busy since leaving office, not only dealing with the radical left trying to pin some crime on him, but he’s also building a multimedia corporation with its own social media platform, Truth Social, as its chief product. Truth Social was built to be a free speech alternative to Twitter, and should Trump return to Twitter, it would undermine the very justification for Truth Social’s existence. Yes, Twitter is bigger, has more reach, and, despite the political censorship that has plagued the platform, it is more ideologically diverse than Truth Social.
Many who have been unfairly banned from Twitter, myself included, will certainly welcome being allowed back on the platform, and that’s different. If Trump were to return to Twitter, it would be interpreted as his admission that his Truth Social platform is a failure. Truth Social’s launch was far from perfect, and Trump himself wasn’t using it for the longest time. Despite its popularity (it’s been the top app in both the Apple and Google Play stores), it is still mostly being used by Trump supporters. If Trump wants Truth Social to be successful and relevant in the long run, he is going to have to use the platform exclusively—and that includes not crossposting between the two platforms.
The media has largely panned Trump’s social media platform, long insisting it is a failure. There’s no doubt that Truth Social doesn’t have the reach of Twitter, and it will take time to build it up. But out of the box, Truth Social had disadvantages. By being a Trump product, the platform was largely going to appeal to his supporters. Liberals may want an echo chamber, but conservatives like myself do not.
Hopefully, Twitter’s evolution from a left-wing platform that censors opposing views to a truly free speech platform will give Truth Social the competition it needs to truly thrive.
