Trump Cites Twitter ‘Problems,’ Says He’ll Stick to Own Platform

© Bloomberg Former US President Donald Trump speaks remotely during the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022. Democrats defied political forecasts and historical trends to keep control of the Senate in a win for President Joe Biden, as voters rejected a handful of candidates backed by former President Donald Trump.

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump said he sees “a lot of problems at Twitter” and will stick to his own social-media platform, offering an initial response to Elon Musk’s poll on whether to reinstate the former president’s account.

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“I hear we’re getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don’t see it because I don’t see any reason for it,” Trump told the Republican Jewish Coalition meeting in Las Vegas via video link. “It may make it, it may not make it.”

Truth Social, the platform launched by Trump after Twitter Inc.’s previous leadership banned him for the Jan. 6, 2021 breaching of the US Capitol by his supporters, “has taken the place for a lot of people, and I don’t see them going back onto Twitter,” Trump said.

With two hours left, the poll started by Musk has prompted almost 14 million votes with about 52% of respondents voting in favor of Trump’s return. Musk said Friday there’s no decision on Trump’s account. He has reinstated accounts tied to conservative media personality Jordan Peterson and satirical website Babylon Bee.

Trump was permanently banned from Twitter in 2021 “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” He formally entered the 2024 US presidential race on Tuesday. 

On Saturday, Trump said he liked Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter and likes him because “I tend to like characters.” But he claimed Twitter’s problems are “terrible,” including negative engagement and fake accounts.

“Truth Social has been very, very powerful, very, very strong, and I’ll be staying there,” Trump told the audience.  

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