Has Donald Trump tweeted yet? An Instagram post falsely claimed that he had.
For the past 22 months, the former president’s Twitter account has sat dormant. The social media company permanently suspended him on Jan. 8, 2021, after determining that his tweets denying the results of the 2020 presidential election were “likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021,” the company wrote in a Jan. 8, 2021, news release explaining its decision.
But now the path has been paved for his return.
Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated after the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, posted a poll on Nov. 18 and said its results would determine Trump’s fate on the platform. Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October. But in May, months before the deal, Musk said he thought the ban was a mistake and would reverse it.
More than 15 million people voted in Musk’s poll. Nearly 52% voted in favor of bringing Trump back, and about 48% voted no. Musk reinstated Trump’s account Nov. 19.
A Nov. 19 Instagram post claimed that Trump tweeted the same day. The post shared a screenshot of the alleged tweet, which read, “It is true that I am back. Sending warm greetings to all the haters and losers who voted against me in @elonmusk’s poll. We love democracy! For my first tweet, I am looking for recs on lawyers who rep people in cases of ‘light’ treason. Asking for a friend…” The tweet was time-stamped 8:27 p.m. Nov. 19.
The Instagram post sharing the tweet was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
But Trump hasn’t tweeted. (At least, not when this was published.). He said he sees “no reason” to come back to the platform, according to his comments during an appearance at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas, The Hill reported.
All of the former president’s tweets are available for viewing online. A search shows that his last tweet was Jan. 8, 2021, the day his account was suspended.
We rate the claim that Trump tweeted about his return to Twitter on Nov. 19 Pants on Fire!
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
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An alleged Nov. 19 tweet from former President Donald Trump was fabricated.
Statement
Context
a screenshotSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Twitter, Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump, Jan. 8, 2021
Elon Musk, Twitter post, Nov. 18, 2022
YouTube, Financial Times, Future of the Car: Elon Musk Keynote Interview, May 10, 2022
New York Times, Elon Musk says he would ‘reverse the permanent ban’ of Donald Trump on Twitter, May 10, 2022
Instagram post, Nov. 20, 2022
The Hill, Trump says he has no interest in returning to Twitter after reinstatement, Nov. 20, 2022
Twitter post, Jan. 8, 2022
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