Musk announced last week that he bought Twitter for $44 billion, after spending months trying to get out of the deal. In his first moments as owner, Musk reportedly fired several top Twitter executives, including the CEO and chief legal officer.
Following his acquisition, Musk has been repeatedly asked by social media users whether Trump would be returning to Twitter.
Twitter announced on January 8, 2021, that Trump’s account had been permanently suspended because of the “risk of further incitement of violence” after the then-president tweeted in support of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol two days earlier after hearing a speech from the president at the nearby Ellipse.
“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action,” Twitter’s statement said.
“Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open. However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things.”
Seemingly addressing this, on Wednesday Musk tweeted: “Twitter will not allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks.”
Musk has previously spoken against Twitter banning the former president.
At the FT Live Future of the Car conference in May, Musk even said the ban on Trump’s account was a “mistake” and that he would “reverse” it if he owned the social media platform.
Last week, Trump praised Musk for buying Twitter in a post on Truth Social, the social media site he launched after his ousting, but did not mention returning to the platform.
“I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country,” Trump wrote, touting Truth Social’s numbers.
Despite some levying Musk with praise for his acquisition, he has also faced pushback for proposing some changes to the platform.
One of the proposed changes to the social media platform that has already sparked a backlash is the introduction of a payment plan for users to keep their blue check marks.
“Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bulls***. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk tweeted.
Musk added his $8 checkmark plan would adjust prices “by country proportionate to purchasing power parity” and would give Twitter “a revenue stream to reward content creators.”
Additionally, he said the pay plan would include additional benefits such as “priority in replies, mentions & search,” the ability to post longer video/audio content, and “half as many ads.”
His plan drew complaints from many people who already have verified Twitter accounts—which are designated as legitimate with the blue check marks—including from figures from both sides of the political spectrum.
Newsweek reached out to Twitter for comment.
