With a bit of a boost from the engineers at Twitter, former President Donald Trump now stands Trump Tower tall on Twitter more than doubling the number of followers of President Joe Biden.
Biden’s Twitter account was created in March 2007 and has 36.5 million followers.
As of 3:26 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, Trump’s account had 86.9 million followers. Twitter owner Elon Musk noted that there was some behind-the-scenes help to restore Trump’s massive following.
Twitter engineering is working on it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
Trump’s Twitter account had more than 88 million followers when he was banned on Jan. 8, 2021, according to Reuters.
Trump was reinstated on Twitter Saturday after a poll on Twitter created by its new owner Elon Musk. More than 15 million Twitter users voted, with 51.8 percent calling for Trump to be reinstated.
The people have spoken.
Trump will be reinstated.
Vox Populi, Vox Dei. https://t.co/jmkhFuyfkv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
Earlier Saturday, Trump indicated no plan to return to Twitter, according to Reuters.
Will Biden run against Trump in 2024?
Yes: 23% (277 Votes)
No: 77% (954 Votes)
“I don’t see any reason for it,” he said in a video appearance at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership meeting.
Trump, who last said he will seek the Republican nomination for president in 2024, said he would remain on his Truth Social platform, which was developed by a company Trump owns. He said Truth Social was doing “phenomenally well.”
Regardless, many hailed the decision, while some criticized it.
Elon Musk reinstating Donald Trump’s Twitter account is a middle finger to all of mainstream media, woke leftists & Big Tech. If you claim to support free speech, this should have you smiling from ear to ear.
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) November 20, 2022
CBS leaves Twitter on the same day that President Trump is reinstated.
I’ll take that deal any day of the week.
— CJ Pearson (@thecjpearson) November 20, 2022
Here’s the leftist president of Mexico, @lopezobrador_, praising the un-banning of Trump.
It’s vital to remember: Trump’s banning by Twitter and FB was condemned by leaders all over the world. Only US liberals and corporate journalists – the epicenter of censorship – cheered it. pic.twitter.com/UFOwwK2Kmp
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 20, 2022
Trump could make Twitter a “hotbed of hate, harassment and incitement,” said Joan Donovan, the research director at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, according to The New York Times.
“The difference between Twitter and Truth Social isn’t just a matter of degree. It’s a matter of influence — global leaders, journalists, technologists, celebrities, culture makers, these are the people that are on Twitter,” Donovan said.
“Any advertiser still funding Twitter should immediately pause all advertising,” Derrick Johnson, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., said in a statement.
“In Elon Musk’s Twittersphere, you can incite an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which led to the deaths of multiple people, and still be allowed to spew hate speech and violent conspiracies on his platform,” he said.
