Elon Musk ‘vehemently’ opposed Twitter’s banning of former President Donald Trump, saying the social media company should not have censored a sitting president, according to a new report.
When Twitter took away Trump’s account over fears he could incite further violence after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Musk was reportedly disheartened by the decision.
Jared Birchall, Musk’s top assistant, texted an associate then: ‘He vehemently disagrees with censoring. Especially for a sitting president. Insane,’ the reported.
The Tesla CEO reportedly ‘remains dismayed’ with Twitter’s decision barring Trump from tweeting, according to the paper.
For right-wing conservative commentators, Musk’s purchase has been heralded as a rebirth of free speech rights on the site. Musk’s exact plans for the site are not clear, but the billionaire has said he wanted to acquire the company because he felt it was not living up to its potential as a platform for ‘free speech.’
‘Free speech is the bedrock of a funcitoning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,’ Musk said in a statement about the deal.
Musk has not indicated whether Trump will be allowed back on Twitter, even after the social media company accepted his $44billion offer to purchase the platform.
While supporters of the former President have been motivated by Musk’s takeover and the prospect of his return to the platform, Trump himself has said he won’t be making a return to Twitter.
‘I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,’ Trump said during an interview with .
The Trump Media & Technology Group’s TRUTH Social formally launched last month with little fanfare, as top executives continue to abandon the struggling platform. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the main competition for Trump’s app, may leave TRUTH with even fewer conservative participants.
Before Musk’s deal with Twitter was officially reported, Trump shared his hopes that Musk would buy the company.
‘I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvement to it and he is a good man,’ Trump said before adding, ‘but I am going to be staying on TRUTH.’
Since its launch Trump’s app has seen about 1.3million downloads, according to Sensor Tower, an app insights company. Meanwhile, Twitter has over 200million active users.
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