Former President Trump recently posted a video on Facebook, marking his return to the platform after a two-year absence. The video clip shows Trump on the night of the 2016 presidential election, apologizing for the delay in announcing the results and describing the election process as “complicated business.”
Trump is back on Facebook.
I predict Twitter is next.
He is going to fight the possible incoming indictment head on.
This should be fun…pic.twitter.com/aLGrj12svM
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 17, 2023
Trump’s return to Facebook comes after the platform’s parent company, Meta, reinstated his account.
On January 25th, Meta announced that it would restore Trump’s access to his social media accounts stating that the public has a right to hear from politicians. Alternatively, Meta also warned that Trump would face “heightened penalties” if he violated their rules repeatedly.
According to Nick Clegg, Meta’s President for Global Affairs, the company has implemented “new guardrails” in anticipation of Trump’s return to its platforms. Clegg has stated that Meta is prepared to take action to prevent any repeated violations of its rules.
“Social media is rooted in the belief that open debate and the free flow of ideas are important values,” said Clegg.
“As a general rule, we don’t want to get in the way of open, public and democratic debate on Meta’s platforms, especially in the context of elections in democratic societies like the United States.”
In January, reports indicated that the former President was keen to return to social media after his exclusive agreement with his own platform, Truth Social, ended. He had launched the platform after being banned from mainstream social media platforms following the January 6th Capitol riot.
Despite billionaire Elon Musk acquiring Twitter and reinstating Trump’s account, the former President could have faced financial losses worth millions of dollars if he continued to use the platform due to the terms of the Truth Social agreement.
Facebook and Instagram are crucial platforms for political campaigns, providing a means of reaching out to voters and raising funds. This could give a boost to former President Trump, who plans to run for President again in 2024. As of February 9th, Trump had 23 million followers on Instagram and 34 million on Facebook.
In his third bid for the White House, Trump will be facing a potentially crowded field of Republican candidates, including his former Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, who is 51 years old, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to challenge him and is 44 years old.
