Donald Trump is preparing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. For this, it is essential to have a strong presence on social media, even if it is on platforms that have continuously shown their dislike for the former president.
NBC notes that Trump's campaign team is trying to accelerate his return to Facebook and Twitter, platforms from which he was banned after the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill.
Campaign strategists are trying to get Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, to lift the ban on Donald Trump and reinstate him on the platforms. "We believe that the ban on President Trump’s account on Facebook has dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse," states a letter sent by the Trump campaign to Meta, which was accessed by NBC News. Republicans close to Trump have pointed out to NBC that if these requests are not granted, Meta could face legislation that could harm its business thanks to the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
Facebook's parent company already indicated a few days ago that it is preparing for Trump's return after the two-year ban. The former president lost access to his Facebook and Instagram profiles on Jan. 7, 2021, one day after the assault on the Capitol. At the time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that the ban was due to Trump's improper use of the platform:
The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden. His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world.
Six months later, in June 2021, Facebook's Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg, announced that Trump was banned from Facebook and Instagram for two years. He further stressed that there was no guarantee that Trump would be reinstated once the two-year mark had passed.
Potential return to Twitter
Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, announced on Nov. 20 that he would lift the ban on Donald Trump's account. However, since then, the former president has not resumed his activity on the platform and continues to post exclusively on Truth Social, a platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group.
Trump's hiatus from Twitter may not last much longer. According to NBC, Trump's campaign team is preparing the message the former president will post on Twitter to announce his return. Republican sources quoted by NBC claim that Donald Trump has been talking about returning to the platform for weeks: "It's just a question of how and when," they note.
Trump has 87.7 million followers on Twitter.
