Former President Donald Trump posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the first time since his suspension following the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, tweeting a photo of his photo and a link to his site website.

Earlier Thursday, Trump made history by becoming the first former president to pose for a photo after his arrest for trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.

At 9:38 p.m., just hours after being jailed and released from Fulton County Jail, @RealDonaldTrump tweeted a link to Trump’s website and a photo of his already viral photo for the first time in two years.

He captioned the photo of the photo with two statements: ‘ELECTORAL INTERFERENCE’ and ‘NEVER SURRENDER’ with another linking to his website address.

Trump also posted the same message on his Truth Social page, but it’s a surprising throwback to X, which banned the former president under his old name before reinstating him after Elon Musk took over the site. .

The site initially suspended Donald Trump’s account for 12 hours before eventually issuing a permanent ban after praising the crowd storming Congress and saying he “loves” them.

One of the deleted tweets read, “These are the things and events that happen when a hallowed landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and viciously taken away from the great patriots who have been wronged and unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love and peace. Remember this day forever! »

In the deleted video, he threw fuel on the fire, claiming the election was ‘stolen’ and telling the rioters he ‘loves’ them.

Twitter said it removed the tweets for violating its “civic integrity policy”.

“Due to the unprecedented and ongoing violent situation in Washington, DC, we have demanded the removal of three @realDonaldTrump tweets that were posted earlier today for repeated and serious violations of our Civic Integrity Policy,” a said the social media company.

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have previously branded content posted by the president over the past year as warnings, particularly his allegations about voter fraud and COVID-19.

Throughout the 2020 presidential election, platforms tagged dozens of tweets from Trump containing false or misleading claims of voter fraud.

However, this was the first time that Twitter had flagged a tweet as “at risk of violence”.

In November 2022, after taking over the social media giant, Elon Musk reinstated the account.

An irrepressible tweeter before his ban, there have been no new tweets from Trump that used Twitter as his primary communication tool both during his bid for president and while in office.

His tweets would move the markets, set the news cycle and set the agenda in Washington.

The controversial move came just three weeks after Musk acquired the social media company for $44 billion and held a public vote in which 15 million users cast their ballots.

After 24 hours of voting, the poll found that 51.8% of those polled wanted Trump reinstated on the platform.

Musk tweeted: “People have spoken. Trump will be reinstated.

“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk added, a Latin phrase that roughly means “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

“Fascinating to watch the Trump Twitter poll! Musk said earlier Saturday morning in a flurry of tweets from the controversial and demanding new owner of the one-to-many messaging platform.

Trump’s Twitter account has been reinstated, but now has just one million followers, down from nearly 90 million before he was suspended in January 2021.

Trump initially said he would not return to Twitter, preferring to focus on his Truth Social app.

“I don’t see any reason for that,” the former president said via video when asked if he plans to return to Twitter through a panel at the annual meeting of leaders of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

“I like him…you know, he’s a character and again, I like characters,” Trump said of Musk.

“He ran a poll and it was very overwhelming…but I have something called…Truth Social.”

Trump said he would stick with his new platform, the app developed by his startup, which he said had better user engagement than Twitter and worked “phenomenaly well.”

But at the time of his suspension, Trump had nearly 90 million followers. When the account was reactivated on Saturday night, all of Trump’s followers had been removed, but their numbers quickly grew to more than a million.

Trump has some 4.57 million followers on his Truth Social platform.

In a tweet, Musk said, “People have spoken. Trump will be reinstated

After 24 hours of voting, the poll found that 51.8% of those polled wanted Trump reinstated on the platform.

Truth Social has been Trump’s main source of direct communication with his supporters since he began posting regularly on the app in May 2022.

Elon Musk rejoined Donald Trump on Twitter following a poll on Saturday night

He used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize his opponents, and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional, and federal investigators.

Trump released a statement on the ballot and the possibility of being reinstated. “Vote positivity now, but don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere,” Trump said. “Truth Social is special! »

His deal with the company, however, opens the door for Trump to engage broadly on other platforms. Trump is obligated to give Truth Social a six-hour exclusivity on any post — but he’s free to post “political messages, political fundraisers, or efforts to get out the vote” on any post. site, at any time, according to a May filing with the SEC. .

Trump, who has launched a campaign to win back the White House in 2024, praised Musk and said he always loved him. But Trump also said Twitter suffered from bots and fake accounts and the problems it faced were “unbelievable”.

“They have a lot of problems on Twitter. You see what is happening. It may or may not succeed, but the problems are unbelievable,” Trump said.

Musk, the new owner of Twitter, said in May 2022 that he would reverse Twitter’s ban on Trump, whose account was suspended following the January 2020 attack on the US Capitol, which he is accused of fueling.

Musk had previously sought to reassure users and advertisers that such a decision would be made after review by a content moderation board made up of people with “widely diverse viewpoints” and that no account reinstatement will take place. would take place before the board meeting.

He also said that Twitter would not reinstate any banned users until there was a “clear process for doing so”.

There has been no new information about the moderation process or advice.

A no-show by Trump could allay concerns among major advertisers, who are already rattled by Musk’s sweeping overhaul of Twitter.

Musk is going through a massive restructuring of the company, including massive layoffs, but he also appears to be among his own having fun with his new $44 billion purchase.

The reinstatement of accounts ousted for violating Twitter’s content moderation rules has been seen as an indicator of the direction Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” wants to take the site.

Musk has been widely critical of Twitter’s suspension policy and has pledged to bring back prominent figures.

He says he will punish people who post hate speech by removing visibility from their accounts – but he won’t ban them outright, because of his firm belief in free speech.