After more than two years of radio silence, Donald Trump has returned to Facebook, officially. “I’M BACK,” the former president (and once again presidential hopeful) posted to the social media site on Friday afternoon, along with a clip from his 2016 election win.
His last post prior to today’s was on January 6, 2021. “I am asking for everyone at the U.S. Capitol to remain peaceful. No violence! Remember, WE are the Party of Law & Order – respect the Law and our great men and women in Blue. Thank you!,” he wrote as his one-time Facebook swan song.
Previously, Trump had been kicked off of the Meta-owned platform, and most other mainstream social media sites — including Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube — for his alleged role in inciting the January 6, 2021 capitol riots. In response to that long-lasting ban, Trump protested — but to no avail, for years.
In January of this year though, Trump’s campaign once again urged the site to reconsider — ahead of his 2024 presidential bid. In the Trump campaign’s view, Meta’s actions “dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse.” Soon after, Trump was re-granted access to his Facebook and Instagram accounts. In total, Meta’s prohibition against the former president lasted for two years.
In a statement announcing that decision to reverse the ban, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, wrote that the company no longer believed the former president’s Facebook account to pose the same “serious risk to public safety,” as it did when the platform barred him.
However, even though his account was re-instated, the once-poster-in-chief abstained from returning to Facebook for weeks. He held off for about two months total, until today’s incredibly boring post. “I’M BACK,” he (or his publicity team) wrote. Which like, obviously.
Trump has also been given back access to his accounts on other platforms, including Twitter. Earlier today, Google announced it would grant the billionaire his YouTube account back. Yet the presidential candidate has yet to post on any of these other sites.
So far, “I’M BACK,” is all we’ve heard from Trump online — outside of his own platform, Truth Social. There, he’s posted all sorts of things, including potentially self-indicting statements. One potential reason the former president might not be so eager to return to his former social media haunts: A semi-exclusive contract tying him to Truth Social. That agreement, however, expires in June.
Separately from today’s social media drama, law enforcement officials are reportedly making moves to indict Trump in the coming weeks over alleged hush money paid to multiple women.