Elon Musk said Tuesday that he would allow former President Donald Trump to return to Twitter if Tesla CEO follows his plan to buy the social media company. Trump was permanently banned from the social media site three days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol for the “risk of further incitement to violence.”
In an exclusive interview with the Financial Times at the Future of the Car conference on Tuesday, Musk was asked about Trump’s potential return to Twitter. After responding with comments about when permanent bans should be applied, Musk said he would “reverse the permanent ban” against Trump, adding, “I don’t own Twitter yet, so that’s not something that it will definitely happen “.
Musk noted that Trump has since resorted to using the platform Social Truth, which was created by Trump Media & Technology Group. Following Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, Trump said he would still do so don’t think about coming back on the platform, even if your account is reset.
Instead, he told Fox News last month that the number of users on Social Truth is growing and that the platform is “much better than being on Twitter.”
“The bottom line is, no, I’m not going back to Twitter,” he said.
But using a different platform, Trump said, is “worse than having a single forum where everyone can debate.”
“Twitter, as with all social media platforms, is really thriving with engagement, and no individual is more attractive than the former president,” CBS News said. @DanPatterson says after Elon Musk said he would reverse Twitter ban on Pres. Trump if his acquisition is made. pic.twitter.com/JCLM6p1bUw
– CBS News (@CBSNews) May 10, 2022
“I think it was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not cause Donald Trump to have no voice,” Musk said. “… Trump’s ban on Twitter did not end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right, and that’s why it’s morally wrong and totally stupid.”
Trump was banned after last year’s deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol. Prior to the attack, he had regularly promoted conspiracy theories and false allegations of electoral fraud, both of which contributed to the January 6 attack, during which a crowd of his supporters tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. .
“After a careful review of the recent tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context surrounding them, we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement to violence,” Twitter said in a statement at the time.
When asked if he maintains his statements, even considering Twitter’s original reasoning for banning the then president, Musk said “bad” tweets should simply be removed or made invisible. A “temporary suspension” would also be appropriate, he said.
“Permanent bans only fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a city square where everyone can express their opinion,” he said. “I think it was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and stupidly extreme.”
Musk said he believes permanent bans should be “extremely rare” and reserved for “bots or spam / scam accounts.” However, that doesn’t mean people can say whatever they want, he said.
Anyone who posts something illegal or “destructive to the world” should face a “dead time,” a temporary suspension, or their tweet being invisible, Musk said.
Musk reached an agreement in late April buy Twitter for $ 44 billionsaying after the announcement of the agreement that it plans to ensure that the platform is dedicated to freedom of expression.
“Freedom of expression is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the city’s digital hub where vital issues for the future of humanity are debated,” it said in a statement.
The deal with Twitter could be closed this year.
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