Trump Says He’s Not Returning to Twitter Even If Musk Un-Bans Him; “I’m Going To Be Staying On TRUTH” – But Is This Classic Trump Negotiation?

PALM BEACH, FL – Following the news Monday that Elon Musk had purchased Twitter for $44 billion with plans to take it private and minimize its censorship, former President Donald Trump said that he would have no interest in rejoining the microblogging site, even if his permanent ban were lifted by the Tesla CEO and his account reinstated.

Instead, Trump noted that he would be sticking with his own social media website, Truth Social.

“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,” Trump said, just prior to the official announcement of Musk’s Twitter buyout going forward. “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.”

Trump was previously permanently banned from several prominent social media platforms – among them Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat – after the companies in question accused the former President of inciting the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol Building.

An especially big blow for Trump was the loss of his Twitter account, which at the time he was banned had over 88 million followers and was a prominent means for him to communicate with his supporters; on average, Trump actually used his private Twitter account throughout his presidency more often than his official @POTUS account.

After losing his reelection bid for the White House, Trump announced plans to start his own social media company – Truth Social – which launched in February 2022. The service is currently only accessible via an iPhone app, and access is currently limited to users in the United States and Canada.

Currently, Trump is not an active user of Truth Social, having not made any posts from his official account since he made the platform’s official first post on February 16; however, he recently told Fox News that he would resume actively using the site within “seven days.”

Trump supporters would likely argue he’s a master negotiator so could this be a Trump negotiation tactic to return to the platform? Everything with Trump is a negotiation. Trump’s tweets were said to have moved the financial markets and likely gave rise to Twitter’s popularity, especially among lawmakers. I would not be at all surprised if a negotiation is taking place. With Trump likely to make a 2024 bid for the White House, it would seem unwise to not have a presence on one of the largest social media sites.