Trump says Twitter in ‘sane hands,’ but doesn’t commit to going back

Former President Trump on Friday welcomed Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, but did not commit to returning to the platform if Musk lifts the ban on his account.

“I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his own social media platform that he’s been using for much of this year. 

“Twitter must now work hard to rid itself of all of the bots and fake accounts that have hurt it so badly. It will be much smaller, but better. I LOVE TRUTH!”

Trump’s post did not rule out the possibility of rejoining Twitter at some point. Musk has said he believes it was a mistake to ban the former president from the platform over his rhetoric around the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, in which he praised supporters who had descended on the complex.

Trump previously said in April that he would not rejoin Twitter if his ban was lifted, even though it offers a larger platform. Strategists and lawmakers have speculated about the possibility of Trump rejoining the platform after the midterms as he mulls a 2024 presidential campaign.

The former president on Friday claimed Truth Social, which launched in February, “had bigger numbers than all other platforms” last week and “looks and works better to my eye.” Trump has 4.37 million followers on Truth Social. He had nearly 90 million on Twitter when he was banned and 34 million followers on Facebook when he was booted from that platform.

Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX founder, late Thursday closed a $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter, promising major changes to the platform. He has said he wants to make the site a haven for free speech without it descending into a “hellscape.” Conservatives have long complained of alleged “shadow bans” and policies on Twitter that restrict their speech.