Trump has continued to spread lies about his 2020 election defeat in speeches and statements since leaving office, and it is unclear how Musk would approach those statements if Trump were ever to return to the site. It raised questions about whether he might reinstate Trump's account as the former president lays the groundwork for another White House run in 2024. Musk, the world's wealthiest person and a self-described free-speech absolutist, had said he wanted to buy and privatize Twitter because he believed it wasn't living up to its potential as a free speech platform. The decision denied him the megaphone he had used to generate media attention and speak directly to his followers, which had been integral to his political rise.Īt the time, the former president had roughly 89 million followers on Twitter alone.
