Elon Musk changes his tune on letting Donald Trump back on Twitter, says 'decision has not yet been made'
- Elon Musk isn't sure whether he'll reinstate former President Donald Trump's Twitter account.
- Earlier this year, he said he would reverse Trump's permanent ban and called the decision "stupid."
Elon Musk isn't sure whether he'll allow former President Donald Trump back onto Twitter, the platform he recently bought for $44 billion.
In a Friday Tweet, Musk said that the recently banned accounts of the comedian Kathy Griffin, the controversial academic Jordan Peterson, and The Babylon Bee, a satirical right-wing website, had been reinstated. As for Trump, the "decision has not been made," Musk said.
It's an apparent reversal of Musk's earlier stance. In May, he told the Financial Times he would "reverse the permaban" on the former president's account, calling the original Twitter decision "morally wrong and flat-out stupid."
Musk said the ban "ultimately did not result in Donald Trump not having a voice," since he moved communication to Truth Social, his Twitter-like social media company. Musk said it's better to have a "single forum where everyone can debate" and that permanent bans should be reserved for spam accounts and bots.
Twitter booted Trump from its site following the January 6, 2021 riot on the US Capitol, citing the "risk of further incitement of violence." It referenced tweets sent out on January 8, 2021 in making the decision. In one, Trump said he would not attend President Joe Biden's inauguration, which Twitter said could be interpreted as an invitation for Trump's supporters to launch an attack on the event.
Following Musk's takeover, Trump said he would not return to Twitter.
In subsequent tweets Friday, Musk also said he would not allow conspiracy theorist Alex Jonesback onto the platform after he was banned in 2018.