Trump Declares Loyalty To His Off-Brand Twitter As Elon Musk Buys Social Media Giant

The TRUTH Social website is seen on a mobile device with an image of former US president Donald Trump in the background in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland on 23 February, 2022. TRUTH Social is a newly devel... The TRUTH Social website is seen on a mobile device with an image of former US president Donald Trump in the background in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland on 23 February, 2022. TRUTH Social is a newly developed social media platform by the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) modelled after Twitter. The initiative was taken after Trump himself had been banned from Facebook and Twitter in 2021. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

As news of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s buyout of Twitter broke on Monday, former President Trump declared that he remains loyal to his “TRUTH Social” app even if his defunct Twitter account is reinstated by the world’s richest person.

On Monday afternoon, Twitter announced that its board accepted an offer from Musk to buy the platform for $44 billion.

Speaking to Fox News on Monday shortly before Twitter’s announcement, Trump — who has only made one post on his own TRUTH Social app thus far — claimed that he will officially join his own app in the form of actually posting on it over the course of the next week.

“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,” Trump told Fox News.

Trump quipped that he had hoped Musk would buy Twitter because the billionaire would “make improvements” and is a “good man,” while reiterating that he will begin “TRUTHing” sometime next week.

Much like former congressman and TRUTH Social CEO Devin Nunes’ recent remarks, Trump claimed that TRUTH is faring better than Twitter, despite … evidence to the contrary.

“Twitter has bots and fake accounts, and we are doing everything we can,” Trump said.

“The bottom line is, no, I am not going back to Twitter,” the former president continued.

Trump’s remarks came hours after Nunes told Fox Business that Trump has no interest in returning to Twitter as a deal for Musk to acquire the social media giant was imminent.

When pressed on whether Trump would return to Twitter if Musk acquires it — under the presumption that the billionaire would restore Trump’s defunct Twitter account — Nunes said he believes the former president has no interest in becoming an active user of the platform again.

“Look, until you get in there and wipe out everything that’s been happening in the company in the last several years, Twitter right now is nothing but a PR wire,” the former congressman said.

In recent weeks, Musk has expressed interest in having a say in tamping down Twitter’s content moderation. Upon news of Musk becoming Twitter’s largest shareholder earlier this month, right-wingers gleefully celebrated the development as a sign that a supposed free speech messiah would revamp the platform and seek vengeance for Trump getting booted after last year’s Capitol insurrection.

Trump has only made one post to his own TRUTH Social app in February. The former president’s off-brand Twitter has experienced a series of glitches since Trump announced it in October in an effort to circumvent his ban by tech giants.

Following TRUTH Social’s messy rollout in February, in which the app experienced a 13-hour outrage and hundreds of thousands of people were put on its waiting list, Nunes said during an appearance on “Huckabee” that the app was finally fully launched for iPhone users this past weekend.

Latest News
71
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for caltg caltg says:

    Trump & Musk. . . .a pox on both their houses.

  2. Sure, Trump won’t go back to Twitter, until suddenly he does.

    And, Musk buying Twitter might be a good thing, because if they drop all the moderating of content and allow the right wingers to get their freak on, it’s going to drive a lot of decent people away. No one wants to post some interesting story and be bombarded by Nazis screaming about how you’re grooming kids by being in favor of Medicare for All or some other liberal policy. I suspect this is more about Musk wanting to control an outlet for spreading propaganda about his beliefs and projects, it’s not even clear that he’s onboard with letting the Nazis run rampant on the internet.

  3. Avatar for jep07 jep07 says:

    Admittedly, I never used it much.
    But this is the best message I ever got out of Twitter;

    "## Deactivated

    Your account is deactivated

    Sorry to see you go. #GoodBye"

    (Bots are never really sorry. They’re just saying that.)

    Go to your Twitter setting, to the privacy setting and at THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE OPTIONS YOU CAN DEACTIVATE!!!

    GO FOR IT.

    ITS LIBERATING. (!)

    How many deactivations equal a total collapse?

    Can we find out?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

65 more replies

Participants

Avatar for discobot Avatar for thehatter Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for irasdad Avatar for inversion Avatar for dont Avatar for sparrowhawk Avatar for drriddle Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for joelopines Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for massie Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for birdford Avatar for kelaine Avatar for lanabill Avatar for ernesto1581 Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for garrybee Avatar for staggerlee Avatar for pangloss2k Avatar for kovie Avatar for Hatmama

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: