Donald Trump Will Not Return To Twitter, Says He's Focused On His Platform 'Truth Social'

Donald Trump confirmed Monday that he will not be returning to Twitter after the social media platform was acquired by Elon Musk.

The former president was banned from Twitter in January 2021 after the Capitol riot. Trump faced criticism for bizarre and controversial tweets but had more than 80 million followers before his permanent suspension.

“No, I won’t be going back on Twitter,” Trump told CNBC's Joe Kernen on Monday.

“I will be on Truth Social within the week. It’s on schedule. We have a lot of people signed up. I like Elon Musk. I like him a lot. He’s an excellent individual. We did a lot for Twitter when I was in the White House. I was disappointed by the way I was treated by Twitter. I won’t be going back on Twitter,” he added.

At the time, Twitter said that it permanently suspended Trump’s account “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.”

Truth Social is Trump's own social media platform created by Trump Media & Technology Group. The Truth Social platform plans to be a place for free and open-source information.

On Monday, Musk purchased Twitter for about $44 billion. He has stated that free speech is assessable on the platform.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement Monday.