Trump says Twitter can never be Twitter ‘unless I go back on’

‘I am very complimented by that. And I only say that because I read 20 articles about it’

Donald Trump said Twitter can never survive unless he makes a return on the platform and said his Truth Social posts are “pretty well crafted”.

In a telephone interview with right-wing activist Darren Beattie, a former speechwriter in the Trump administration, the twice-impeached president was asked if he has considered joining the platform again after being called “the greatest Tweeter of all time”.

“There are those who say Twitter can never be Twitter unless I go back on. I am very complimented by that. And I only say that because I read 20 articles about it,” Mr Trump replied.

Speaking about his posts on Truth Social, he boasted that his “Truths” are well crafted and for the benefit of the country.

“If you look at the Truth I put out today and some that are going out momentarily I think you can see that number one they are correct, number two they are good for the country and number three they are pretty well crafted,” he said.

The former president has suggested he will not go back to Twitter as his reach on Truth Social was better.

He went on to ask Mr Beattie if he saw the posts he put out on Tuesday before their interview. The interviewer responded in the affirmative, saying they were good.

The one-time president’s Twitter account was permanently suspended two days after the US Capitol insurrection in 2021 by his supporters. Twitter said the ban was due to “the risk of further incitement of violence.”

On 20 November 2022, Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk, a self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist and billionaire, reinstated his account after running a poll in which users narrowly backed the move.

But Mr Trump has not tweeted again after the reinstatement. “I don’t see any reason for it,” he had earlier said.

In the interview, Mr Beattie claimed there was a belief that Mr Musk did not want Mr Trump back on Twitter as he might unseat the billionaire as “the most popular Tweeter”.

Mr Trump said he had 89 million people following him when he was de-platformed, but claimed it should have been double than that.

Facebook owner Meta is also preparing to announce whether it will reinstate Mr Trump’s account on Facebook and Instagram, according to a Financial Times report.

The social media giant previously gave a 7 January date to announce the decision. That decision is now expected to be announced later in the month, the newspaper said, citing a person familiar with the matter.