Elon Musk said that he would reverse the Twitter ‘permaban’ on former President Donald Trump, news that is sure to send free speech opponents on the left into an apoplectic fit.
The Tesla CEO and likely-soon-to-be Twitter CEO made the first definitive comments on Trump’s ban Tuesday during an appearance at FT Live’s “Future of the Car” conference.
Musk said the original ban was a “mistake” and “foolish in the extreme.”
“Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots, or scam, spam accounts … I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump,” he said.
“I think that was a mistake, because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”
In fact, Trump shifted to email alerts that are often tweeted out by supporters and started his own social media company.
Musk later called the ban on the former President “a morally bad decision and foolish in the extreme.”
Elon Musk: “I would reverse” President Trump’s ban from Twitter
pic.twitter.com/9UxpfLf15j— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 10, 2022
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RELATED: Elon Musk Acknowledges Twitter’s ‘Obviously’ Strong Left-Wing Bias
Elon Musk Will Reinstate Trump on Twitter
Speaking specifically about whether or not he would reinstate former President Trump on Twitter, Elon Musk delivered a bombshell statement.
“I would reverse the permaban,” Musk said.
And with that, the liberal outrage racket was in full swing.
Perpetually outraged pundit Keith Olbermann was naturally one of the first to respond.
“This again proves whatever intelligence, cunning or skill is required to get really rich, it is NOT transferable to the rest of your life,” he assessed.
➡️At #FTCar conference @elonmusk says the Twitter ban on Trump was a
“morally bad decision and foolish in the extreme” which he’ll rescindThis again proves whatever intelligence, cunning or skill is required to get really rich, it is NOT transferable to the rest of your life. pic.twitter.com/ArqqaRoCqt
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 10, 2022
Intercept reporter Murtaza Hussain said the decision wasn’t about free speech but rather “class solidarity with a fellow oligarch.”
If Elon Musk unblocks Trump from Twitter it’ll be about class solidarity with a fellow oligarch rather than the branding claiming its just impartial commitment to free speech.
— Murtaza Hussain (@MazMHussain) May 10, 2022
Then there was the usual crowd stating they would be taking their ball and going home.
I will be gone if that happens
— Shayne (@Shayneinthehous) May 10, 2022
But, fear not liberals. Musk, after saying he would reinstate Trump on Twitter, admitted nothing is set in stone.
“I don’t own Twitter yet,” he explained. “So this is not like a thing that will definitely happen, because what if I don’t own Twitter?”
Reports indicate Musk will serve as Twitter CEO for a few months after his deal to acquire the social media platform is finalized, which could take some time.
5/10/22: Elon Musk says he would lift Twitter ban on Donald Trump after deal closes @CNBC. Me: How wonderful! Free speech isn’t free in a country unless it’s free for everyone – even if the powers that be disagree with them. ???????? https://t.co/5OJQrrm6dQ
— Orisha Kulick (@orisha_kulick) May 10, 2022
RELATED: Trump Returns To Social Media… With Cryptic Message
Will Trump Come Back?
President Trump has insisted he has no intentions of returning to Twitter where he practically revolutionized political campaigns and public interaction.
“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,” he said.
Trump emphasized his point by posting a message to his Truth Social platform that was short, sweet, and hilarious.
Donald Trump has posted for the first time on his “Truth Social” app saying
“I’m back! #COVFEFE” pic.twitter.com/fbRUDo2eFu
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) April 29, 2022
Trump was permanently suspended from several social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat following the Capitol riot and the media-driven narrative that he was responsible somehow.
The Twitter ban was extended then made permanent when he continued to rail against unproven claims of election fraud.
Musk claims that former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has views in line with his own that Trump should not have been banned in the first place.
“He and I are of the same mind, which is that permanent bans should be extremely rare, and really reserved for accounts that are bots, or spam/scam accounts,” he said.
Dorsey tweeted that he does, in fact, agree with Musk.
“I do agree,” he wrote. “There are exceptions … but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don’t work.”
I do agree. There are exceptions (CSE, illegal behaviour, spam or network manipulation, etc), but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don’t work, which I wrote about here after the event (and called for a resilient social media protocol): https://t.co/fQ9KnrCQGX
— jack⚡️ (@jack) May 10, 2022
Dorsey was not only CEO of Twitter when Trump was banned but was also on board when the social media platform censored stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
He appears to be admitting these moves were a mistake – which is too little, too late.
Musk says the acquisition of Twitter, which is still subject to shareholder approval, could close well before the October deadline.
“It’s the decision by a private sector company to make,” WH Press Secretary Jen Psaki says on Elon Musk potentially reversing Pres. Trump’s Twitter ban.
Psaki says the WH is focused on protecting free speech, while ensuring platforms aren’t used as “forums for disinformation.” pic.twitter.com/o9FueVI5K5
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 10, 2022
Truth Social is building its media platform from the ground up. It isn’t available on Android devices as of yet – though that could change by the end of May.
If it lags well behind the number of users Twitter sees on a daily basis, will Trump be able to resist sending out a Tweet once Musk reinstates his account?
Only time will tell.
