Trump being allowed back on Twitter after Elon Musk purchase is the 'litmus test' for the platform's future, ex-top advisor says

• Jason Miller, CEO of GETTR, wants Trump back on Twitter.
• He warned that new ownership wasn't enough to change Twitter's culture.

GETTR CEO Jason Miller is watching for one thing when it comes to whether Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk can change Twitter.

"The one litmus test when it comes to Twitter trying to get its reputation back is letting Trump back on the platform," Miller told Insider in an interview. "If they don't, that shows that none of their politically charged culture has really changed."

Top conservatives are cheering the purchase by Musk, who has signaled he'll prioritize "free speech" once he takes the social media giant private. Republicans often complain that they are more frequently blocked or suspended from Twitter than Democrats are, and accuse Twitter's employees of having an anti-conservative bias.

Twitter booted Trump after a mob of his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

But Miller, who was a White House spokesman and advisor to Trump during his 2020 reelection campaign, predicted Twitter wouldn't allow the former president to get his handle back.

"I dont think Musk is going to pick this hill to die on," Miller said.

He also said he was was less certain than other Republicans that the Musk purchase alone could change Twitter's culture, even as he called Musk "the greatest innovator of our lifetime."

Musk would find it "easier to land a rocket on Mars than change the political nature of Twitter" because people in the company — from moderators to engineers — "use political discrimination to pick winners and losers in the free speech debate," Miller said.

Musk's personal political leanings are something of a mystery. He's described often as a libertarian, and in a 2018 tweet Musk wrote that he was "registered independent & politically moderate." In the past, Twitter employees have overwhelmingly donated to Democrats over Republicans, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan research organization OpenSecrets.

Outside of his interview with Insider, Miller detailed his thoughts about the purchase in an opinion piece he published on the War Room, the website founded by former Trump advisor Steve Bannon. GETTR is considered to be a competitor to Twitter and has attracted conservatives worried about limits on speech.

Trump has not joined GETTR, which has 5 million users. He said Monday he didn't plan to re-join Twitter either, if asked, but would be joining his own struggling social media platform, called Truth Social.

Miller, who said he thinks Trump will run for president again in 2024, said that he thought Trump should reconsider.

"If he asked me," he said, "I would tell him to be on all platforms to reach a broad audience."