“To everyone who asked, I’m not going for the nomination on January 20.” This is Donald Trump’s last Twitter post on January 8, 2021, before he finally took his account off of him following the Capitol takeover two days earlier.
But since November 20, you have the freedom to return to your favorite social network: it is the result of a vote launched by Elon Musk, new head of the platform.
This November 21, the former US president had not yet published anything there, while last week he announced his intention to run for the White House again in 2024. Because if the temptation is great, the billionaire’s return is not obvious at all. And this hesitation is tied to a history of big money.
six hour delay
In 2021. After his expulsion from Twitter but also from Facebook and YouTube, Trump seeks to find a new sounding board. He then promised to create his own social network. The announcement is finally made in October of the same year and Truth Social launches in March 2022.
Modeled on Twitter, the social network appeals to the radical right and idolaters of Donald Trump. He himself is obviously active even though his messages don’t have the reach they did before. The former president is followed by 4 million people on Truth Social against 88 million on Twitter.
but how do you remember New York Magazine In May 2022, citing a public financial document, Donald Trump committed to his investors to publish their Truth Social posts exclusively online for six hours. In other words, Donald Trump would only be able to replicate his posts long overdue if he used Twitter. With, however, important exceptions for messages “of a political nature”, which could leave a gap for the former president to use other platforms.
Weakening his own empire
But Truth Social is also a financial problem. To create it, Trump founded a media company (Trump Media & Technology Group, TMTG) in association with UAV, a company run by two former contestants on his reality show. The newbie.
as the story goes Washington Post, Trump did not go far from jumping ship. In June 2021, even before “his” social network ended, he had an offer on the table for Gettr, yet another Twitter clone for Trumpists, developed by his former assistant and spokesperson: $5 million in revenue a year. and a share capital. UAV’s lawyers quickly stepped forward because the former president had negotiated an agreement with them in February 2021 to cede part of his intellectual property rights over his name, images, photos, videos, etc.
Ultimately, Trump will stick with Truth Social, well aware that his departure would be a detriment to his own financial empire. For the same reasons, a return to Twitter would risk causing the collapse of its fragile platform, which in September had just 1.7 million unique visitors in the United States.
Source: BFM TV
