After spending over two years in digital exile, former President Donald Trump made his return to Instagram on Tuesday.
Trump used his long-awaited return to the photo-sharing platform to drum up support for the second series of his digital card collection, a money-making gambit that baffled some of his closest supporters and drew mockery from his political rivals but also brought in millions of dollars.
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The former president was booted from Facebook and Instagram during the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The last time he posted on Instagram, he was still serving as president.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued the ban was needed because the risk of allowing him on the platform was “simply too great” amid the looming transition of power to President Joe Biden. Twitter enacted a similar prohibition on Trump at the time, too.
Later, Trump’s penalty was bumped up to two years. In February, Meta announced that Trump would be permitted back on its platforms. But the company warned it would levy a similar punishment against Trump if he engages in repeat behavior in the future.
Twitter similarly let him out of the doghouse shortly after CEO Elon Musk took over the company. Trump did not immediately hop back on either platform and has been firing off his posts on his Truth Social platform instead.
Trump long decried the social media bans against him and railed against Big Tech, which he unveiled plans to target should he get a second term as commander in chief.
“I am pleased to inform you that, due to the great success of my previously launched DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we are doing it again, SERIES 2, AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW,” Trump wrote to his 23.5 million followers on Instagram.
The former president shared his announcement on Truth Social as well. He quickly followed up his return to Instagram with a second post praising himself for not jacking up the price of the trading cards.
“I hope everyone notices, & I’m sure the Fake News won’t, that I’m leaving the price of the Trading Cards the same as last time, even though they are selling for MANY TIMES MORE,” he wrote. “I want my fans & supporters to make money, & have fun doing it.”
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Late last year, the former president unveiled his Donald Trump Digital Trading Card collection featuring flamboyant images of him assuming the role of a superhero, an astronaut, America’s hero, and more.
The $99 apiece non-fungible tokens, commonly known as NFTs, sold out and possibly earned him up to a $4.45 million windfall. Trump is the front-runner in the 2024 Republican primary for president.
