(Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
After a long stretch of inactivity, Donald Trump is back on Twitter/X.
The @realdonaldtrump account has been quiet since Twitter suspended it following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol for violating the company's "Glorification of Violence policy." Elon Musk reinstated the account in November 2022, but Trump hasn't posted anything except his mug shot, instead favoring his own Truth Social.
But on Monday morning, the account started tweeting and retweeting campaign-style videos as Trump tries to win back the US presidency. One of the tweets is promoting a live interview Musk is conducting with Trump tonight. Others link to a website asking for political donations.
Still, Trump is reserving most of his takes for Truth Social, where he posts multiple times per day. That's probably because Trump has agreed to post his musings on Truth Social before any other platform, according to an SEC filing from the app's owner, Trump Media Group Corp.
That said, Trump can post on any social media site, including Twitter/X, if it’s for “political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the-vote efforts.” It now looks like the former president is taking advantage of that exception.
Since acquiring Twitter and turning it into X, Musk has rolled back much of the content moderation, which could give Trump even more leeway to promote himself on the platform.
But regulators in Europe have warned that Twitter could face penalties for failing to follow EU rules on stopping misinformation. On Monday, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton sent a letter to Musk about his upcoming interview with Trump, saying EU regulators are closely watching Twitter/X for circulating calls for violence, hate, and racism. "With great audience comes greater responsibility,” Breton said in a tweet.
However, Twitter's CEO Linda Yaccarino is blasting Breton's letter. "This is an unprecedented attempt to stretch a law intended to apply in Europe to political activities in the US. It also patronizes European citizens, suggesting they are incapable of listening to a conversation and drawing their own conclusions," she wrote in her own tweet.