Elon Musk reinstated former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account on Saturday after a massive online poll voted in favor of the proposal.
Musk announced that Trump’s account would be restored following the results of a Twitter poll that asked users to vote “yes” or “no” on whether the former president should be reinstated and allowed back on the platform. The results of the user poll were 51.8% yes and 48.2% no.
After the results were confirmed, Musk tweeted, “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” a Latin phrase meaning “The voice of the people [is] the voice of God.”
The decision to reverse Trump’s suspension potentially signals that the era of censorship that once plagued the Twitter platform would no longer continue moving forward under Musk’s new leadership.
The decision to suspend Trump’s Twitter account was made under previous company leadership following the events at the United States Capitol building on January 6, 2020.
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter said in an official statement about Trump’s suspension.
Twitter staff claimed that the last two tweets by Trump on January 6 were problematic, despite the messaging in the tweets urging peaceful actions.
“Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful,” said Trump in his second-to-last tweet on January 6.
Trump’s final tweet for the day read, “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No Violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!”
The last tweet by Trump on the messaging platform said that he would not attend the January 20 inauguration of President Joe Biden.
Trump has yet to make an official return to Twitter, preferring to stay on Truth Social, his own social media platform he created following his suspension.
Trump has said previously that he would not rejoin Twitter even if his account were reinstated.
Speculation remains, however, about whether the former president will make his debut back on the platform anytime soon. Currently, Trump has 87.6 million Twitter followers, many more than the current president’s account.
Elon Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion on October 27, and since then, he has made sweeping changes to the platform. These include mass layoffs, the introduction of Twitter Blue (which was subsequently pulled and expected to be relaunched in the future), and urging workers to be back in the office, among others.
🙄🙄🙄