The prodigal son returns: As Trump is back to Twitter transformed as X, will he get the same oxygen?

Donald Trump returned to Twitter with a bang, but he will now realise that it's not Twitter anymore... it has become X, thanks to owner Elon Musk, who reinstated the former president in November 2022 after buying the social media platform.

Even after being re-instated, Trump more or less stayed away from the platform which was arguably his favourite mic during his time in office. He chose to share his thoughts (mostly rage for Dems and Biden) on his own platform, Truth Social, but to a much smaller audience than he had on Twitter.

But he is now on X... and posted his police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, his first post on the platform since January 2021. Trump was formally arrested on racketeering and conspiracy charges in relation to his effort to overturn the 2020 election, becoming the first sitting or former president with a prison mugshot.

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He was released on a $200,000 bond.

The mugshot pic was his first post since the US Capitol episode that saw an enraged mob of his supporters attempt to block Joe Biden's certification as president. The mob attack, which killed five people, was widely regarded as an insurrection - a crowd that was said to be influenced by Trump's tweet. He was blamed for having caused the mayhem. Then he was suspended from the platform by the former overseers of Twitter. The US Capitol Hill attack was one of the darkest chapters in the history of America.

Trump's last post on Twitter was on January 8, 2021, which was an address of him slamming the violence, which he called "heinous".

Now in his new post of the iconic mugshot has the words "MUG SHOT -- AUGUST 24, 2023."

Below it are the phrases "ELECTION INTERFERENCE" and "NEVER SURRENDER."

For a normal person like me, mugshots represent a humiliating public experience, but Trump welcomed the image and shared it again on his social media platform with a link to his campaign website. It is a statement?

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But why post on Twitter now?

When we talk about Trump, there's nothing certain and it wasn't immediately obvious if the post was a one-time occurrence or he will keep posting, appealing to millions of users.

Trump has 86.6 million followers on X far more than his rivals in the 2024 race. The micro-blogging platform could help him substantially during the 2024 election campaign.

And it looks like he needs all the help he can get as the ongoing legal troubles are not helping him. And he might get benefits too as Musk is not someone who would oppose him. In fact, the Tesla and SpaceX owner might fill the bill as he has already shared hidden secrets of the platforms after buying it by releasing documents in the form of "The Twitter Files".

Those files might contain something that proves to be useful for Trump. Well, only time will tell.

Can he really come back on Twitter?

When Truth Social was launched, Trump agreed to make it the "first channel" for "any and all social media communications and posts coming from his personal profile" as part of his agreement with Digital World Acquisition Corp. to take Truth Social public. This was done so he wouldn't compete against his own company.

The exclusivity clause was disclosed in the filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It stated that the former president was "generally required to make any social media post on Truth Social and may not make the same post on another social media site for 6 hours" for an 18-month period starting on December 22, 2021. The time frame was over in June.

Trump returned to Facebook in March, posting, "I'M BACK!" just weeks after his personal account there was reactivated, and he has been using it to share his videos and messages. If he plans to come back on Twitter, the way he used to, then the next year's election just became even more interesting.

Who knows, it might even help Musk, with more engagement from Trump users and detractors on the platform adding up to the numbers.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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