Trump Gives Himself An Out To Rejoin Twitter If Musk Resurrects His Defunct Account

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)
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
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Despite previously declaring loyalty to his knockoff Twitter platform, former President Trump appears to now have an interest in only partially restricting his Twitter usage in the near future.

A new SEC filing from Digital World Acquisition Corp. — the main financing vehicle for Trump’s TRUTH Social app taking it public — says that Trump plans to sort of restrict himself from using Twitter. Although the former president will be obligated to post on his new social network, per the filing, he will be permitted to post to other sites … under a few conditions.

According to the filing, the former president is “generally obligated” to post on TRUTH Social — but can make the “same post on another social media site” as long as he waits six hours before doing so.

Trump can then post to “any site to which he has access” once the hours are up.

“Thus, TMTG has limited time to benefit from his posts and followers may not find it compelling to use TruthSocial to read his posts that quickly,” the filing reads.

The filing gives Trump even more leeway to bypass TRUTH Social altogether if he wants to use other accounts to benefit his “political messaging.”

“In addition, he may make a post from a personal account related to political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the-vote efforts on any social media site at any time,” the filing reads.

The caveats outlined in the SEC filing (it’s still not entirely clear if it will go public, as Axios noted here) comes weeks after the former president vowed loyalty to his TRUTH Social app even if his defunct Twitter account is reinstated. That TRUTH Social fealty pledge followed news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had offered to buy Twitter for $43 billion — a much celebrated, but yet to be fruitful deliverance day for conservatives and far-right figures alike who praised the news and immediately speculated the billionaire might restore Trump’s account once the deal went through (it has not yet).

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

Former GOP congressman-turned-TRUTH Social CEO Devin Nunes has also made efforts to feign Trump’s confidence in his off-brand Twitter, despite the series of damaging glitches that have plagued the company since Trump announced its creation in October, as part of an effort to circumvent his ban by tech giants.

During an appearance on Fox Business last month, Nunes insisted that the former president has no interest in returning to Twitter even as right-wingers gleefully celebrated Musk’s takeover of the social media giant Trump was banned from after Jan. 6.

“He said he really doesn’t have an interest in going on Twitter, and my guess is that would continue to be the same,” the former congressman said.

“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,” Nunes continued.

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Notable Replies

  1. “In addition, he may make a post from a personal account related to political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the-vote efforts on any social media site at any time,”

    That covers, uh, everything?

  2. 2 nanoseconds after he’s allowed back on Twitter, despite saying he’s not interested in it, TFG will say “my people want me back there.”

  3. Face-saving? I think we know Trump doesn’t abide by rules.

    Here’s a fun tidbit: There’s a filing with an agreement that nothing he does, “even if such conduct could reflect negatively on TMTG’s reputation or brand or be considered offensive, dishonest, illegal, immoral, or unethical … shall be considered a breach of the license agreement.” They seem to understand what they’re dealing with.

  4. “Negotiating” the terms of engagement keeps up the illusion of progress towards TMTG being a real thing that will someday have value. The DWAC acquisition of TMTG has yet to go through, though they’ve given themselves until Sept 22nd (this year).

  5. Poor Devin Nunes is about to find out what it feels like to be just another one of Trump’s ex-wives.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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