Donald Trump has made a surprising return to X, previously known as Twitter, just hours before an interview with Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the platform. The former president is set to have a live interview with Mr. Musk, who endorsed him and his running mate JD Vance back in July. The interview is scheduled to take place at 8pm ET (12am GMT Tuesday) and will be hosted live using Trump’s official X account as confirmed by his campaign on Sunday.
This return marks Trump’s first post on the platform since August of last year. In his recent post, Trump questioned if people are better off now than they were when he was president, highlighting concerns about the economy and border security. He emphasized the need to make the American Dream affordable again, make America safe, and make America great once more.
In addition to promoting the upcoming interview with Mr. Musk, Trump shared four campaign videos, including one that referred to his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, as a “SAN FRANCISCO RADICAL.” This move is seen as an attempt to rally support for his presidential campaign in the upcoming election on 5 November.
Trump’s access to his @realDonaldTrump account was reinstated a month after Elon Musk acquired X in 2022. He had been suspended by the platform’s previous owners following the Capitol attack on 6 January 2021. Since then, Trump has been actively posting on his Truth Social platform, which was launched in February 2022 but has a smaller audience compared to X.
The interview with Elon Musk on his social media platform could provide Trump with an opportunity to reach a broader audience beyond his usual conservative supporters. However, technical issues have plagued similar events on the platform in the past.
Elon Musk, known as the world’s richest person, had initially supported Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020 but has since shifted towards the right. He recently endorsed Trump and even started an external super PAC spending group to support Trump’s campaign. Musk has been critical of the UK government’s handling of recent unrest, stating that the policing has been “one-sided.”
Just last week, Musk suggested that a “civil war is inevitable” in the UK, a comment that drew significant criticism from Downing Street. He also directly criticized the Prime Minister in response to concerns raised by Sir Keir Starmer about attacks on Muslim communities. This exchange led to backlash from UK politicians, with many expressing their disapproval of Musk’s comments.
Overall, Trump’s return to X and the upcoming interview with Elon Musk have stirred interest and speculation among the public and political observers. It remains to be seen how this interaction will impact Trump’s election campaign and future political endeavors.
