Donald Trump returns to Facebook two years after ban over Jan 6 riot: ‘I’m back!’

Comes as the former president kicks off his 2024 campaign in earnest

Former president Donald Trump announced his return to Facebook on Friday with a video after the social media giant reinstated him.

The former president announced his return with a video showing his victory in the 2016 election where he said “Sorry to keep you waiting, complicated business.”

“I'M BACK!” Mr Trump said in a video description.

Facebook, along with other social media giants such as YouTube and Twitter, initially banned the former president for his actions on January 6. Instagram, which Facebook’s parent company Meta owns, also banned him.

Since then, Mr Trump has mostly communicated through his Truth Social networking platform.

But in recent months, many of the social media giants reinstated Mr Trump. Elon Musk, who took over Twitter in October, reinstated the former president after conducting a poll.

On Friday, YouTube announced that it would reinstate Mr Trump.

“Starting today, The Donald J. Trump channel is no longer restricted and the ability to upload new content is restored,” said Leslie Miller, YouTube’s vice president for public policy in a statement.

“We carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, balancing that with the importance of preserving the opportunity for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election,” she added. “This channel will continue to be subject to our policies, just like any other channel on YouTube.”

The former president’s ban came after fear he would incite further violence after the deadily riot at the US Capitol. The House of Representatives later impeached him for his actions but the Senate acquitted him after only seven Republican Senators voted to convict him.

Mr Trump’s reinstatement on various social media channels comes as he kicks off his 2024 presidential campaign. Earlier this week, he visited Davenport, Iowa and made numerous swipes at his most formidable potential opponent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.