Former President Donald Trump has made his return to Twitter (now X) more than two years after being banned from the platform in the wake of the January 6th Capitol riot. On August 24th, 2023, Trump posted his first tweet since his account was reinstated on November 19th, 2022. The tweet featured an image of his mug shot taken when he was booked at the Fulton County jail in Georgia. This arrest was in connection with charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential elections.
In addition to the mug shot, the image included the words “Election Interference” and “Never Surrender!” There was also a URL to his website, where his mug shot prominently appeared alongside a lengthy note. The note began with the statement, “Today, at the notoriously violent jail in Fulton County, Georgia, I was ARRESTED despite having committed NO CRIME.”
The decision to reinstate Trump’s account came about as a result of a Twitter poll conducted by Elon Musk in November of the previous year. Musk asked users to vote on whether Trump should regain access to his account. After 24 hours, the option to reinstate the former president emerged as the winner with 51.8 percent of the votes, totaling more than 15 million. Musk acknowledged that some of the activity in the poll came from “bot and troll armies.” He had previously mentioned that the reinstatement decision would be made by a newly formed moderation council, but this idea was not followed through.
Twitter initially banned Trump in early 2021 after he violated the company’s rules against inciting violence. Initially, Trump’s account was suspended for 12 hours, but the ban was later made permanent by the platform. Trump attempted to bypass the ban and even filed a lawsuit against Twitter, which ultimately failed. Following his removal from Twitter, as well as Facebook and other social media platforms, Trump went on to create Truth Social. Despite being reinstated on Twitter, Trump initially stated that he didn’t “see any reason” to return to the platform. However, the opportunity to reach a large audience with the dramatic mug shot prominently displayed was likely too enticing for Trump to resist, especially with an upcoming potentially contentious Republican primary in sight.
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In conclusion, Donald Trump has made a comeback on Twitter after a two-year ban, posting an image of his mug shot from his arrest in Georgia related to charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 Presidential elections. With the reinstatement of his Twitter account, Trump has an opportunity to reach a wide audience, which may be strategically advantageous in the midst of a potential Republican primary.
