Elon Musk Promises to Overturn Trump Twitter Ban

Elon Musk sits with Donald Trump

Elon Musk has said that he will overturn former US president Donald Trump’s Twitter ban if he successfully completes his takeover of the social media platform.

Trump was permanently banned by Twitter in January 2021, following the attack the US capitol on January 6th, taking the position that his tweets were likely to incite violence. Prior to the ban the then-president had received several warnings for policy violations.

But Musk has said the controversial businessman-turned-politician would be welcome back on the platform should his $44bn deal to buy the company go through.

“I would reverse the permanent ban,” Musk said, addressing a car industry conference by video link.

“I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake. It alienated the country and did not result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”

“I think it was a morally bad decision and foolish in the extreme,” he added.

Trump has publicly stated that he wouldn’t return to Twitter even if the ban were overturned, having since launched his own platform Truth Social. In reality though the former president’s attempt to rival social media giants is failing, and with Trump keen to play a core role in the 2024 presidential election, either as a candidate or kingmaker, it is unlikely he will let the opportunity to broadcast his message to millions slip.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey appeared to back Musk’s position on Trump, saying that “generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don’t work” in a tweet.