Trump 'probably coming back to Twitter': GOP source

Former President Donald Trump is looking to return to Twitter and Facebook. Trump, whose account was reinstated following the purchasing of Twitter by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, has stuck to his own platform, Truth Social, despite his account's unsuspended status.

A Republican with knowledge of private discussions on Trump's potential return to Twitter, who spoke with NBC News on condition of anonymity, said, "Trump is probably coming back to Twitter. It’s just a question of how and when. He’s been talking about it for weeks, but Trump speaks for Trump, so it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll do or say or when."


 

Another person close to Trump told the outlet that Trump has sought input on his potential return to Twitter for weeks, and that his campaign advisors have been workshopping ideas for his first Tweet on the platform in over 2 years.

Some Trump advisors said that the 2024 presidential hopeful could be limited in posting to other social media platforms since he founded Truth Social. A spokesman for Trump told NBC though that the campaign believes he would be able to return to Twitter as before.

Trump was banished from the popular social media platform on January 8, 2021, two days after the Capitol riot on January 6. 

Twitter said in a statement at the time: "After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.

"In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on the principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.

"However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement."

Trump previously said that he would not be returning to the platform and that he would stick to Truth Social. 

"Truth Social is through the roof," he said, "it's doing phenomenally well, the press needs to talk about it, but it's doing phenomenally well. I think engagement is much better than it is with Twitter. And It's taking care of voices that really want to be taken care of, and smart voices, brilliant voices, voices that in many cases are both sides."

Talks of Trump's potential return to Twitter comes as Trump's campaign has petitioned for his Facebook account to be reinstated, as the account nears the end of it's two-year suspension. The Facebook ban, enacted on January 7, 2021, was for an initial period of two years, after which it would come up for review.

"We believe that the ban on President Trump’s account on Facebook has dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse," Trump’s campaign wrote in its letter to Meta, formerly Facebook, on Tuesday.

A Trump advisor who spoke anonymously with NBC News regarding the Facebook ban believes that the company will honor the two-year ban and reinstate his account.

"If Facebook wants to have this fight, fine, but the House is leverage, and keeping Trump off Facebook just looks political," the advisor said.