- Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, reinstated Donald Trump's account in November.
- The former president has not yet returned to the platform.
Since taking over Twitter in late October, Elon Musk has reunited a series of controversial figures with their suspended accounts.
Among them is former US president Donald Trump, who was booted off the platform in January 2021.
Musk reinstated Trump's account back in November 2022, at the will of "the people," which was expressed via a Twitter poll. However, the former US president has yet to start tweeting again.
Trump's Twitter silence has caused some confusion as he has made no secret of how much he valued the platform. In 2017, he even said he would never have become president without it.
In private, Trump has reportedly noted that his brand and image were entwined with Truth Social, a platform he founded and launched in February 2022, making it difficult for him to rejoin Twitter.
Twitter is a Truth Social competitor
Twitter is a direct competitor to Truth Social, which has a similar structure to Elon Musk's platform. Users follow each other, like, and comment on posts. There is also a "re-truth" option, which functions in the same way as a retweet.
"Twitter is a competing platform," Matt Navarra, a social-media expert, told Insider. "So it would be an odd thing for Trump to be pushing hard and invested heavily in a social platform that's got a lot of similarities with Twitter, then the using the competition."
Trump has repeatedly signaled his commitment to Truth Social. He told Fox News on Musk's full first day as Twitter's new owner: "I am staying on Truth. I like it better, I like the way it works, I like Elon, but I'm staying on Truth."
The former president also has a contractual obligation to post on Truth Social first.
According to an SEC filing by the Digital World Acquisition Group SPAC, Trump agreed he wouldn't post on another platform for six hours after the initial Truth Social post. However, the clause didn't apply to political messaging.
The six-hour post agreement "kind of defeats the object of being on Twitter because it's all very much real-time," Navarra said.
Many Truth Social users want him to stay put
Data shows that many Truth Social users are keen for Trump to steer clear of other social networks. Last month, a poll posted on Truth Social asked: "Now that Trump is unbanned, should he get back on Twitter?"
Although most of the 452 users who voted in a recent poll wanted him to return to Twitter, a significant number were less keen. The poll ended with 63.9% voting in favor of his return and the remaining 36.1% saying he should stay put.
One user commented: "Why do people think that he needs to go to Twitter when he's got truth social? That's just stupid thinking."
"I say hell NO!" said another commenter, whose username was Sherry. "He has his own platform and I still don't trust Twitter," Sherry told Insider via direct message. "They are still banning conservatives."
'Star of the show'
Naturally, a large percentage of Truth Social users are Trump aficionados who want to hear directly from the former president.
Trump is Truth Social's figurehead and "the star of the show" on the platform, Navarra said. When it comes to Twitter, though, Musk is the one in the limelight.
"I think that Donald Trump would not want to be the second character of a platform when it's owned by Elon Musk, who is the star of the show now, and I don't think he'll like that pecking order," Navarra said.
"I don't think that either will be happy to play second fiddle to the other," he added.
Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.