Elon Musk wants to unblock Donald Trump on Twitter

Elon Musk wants to unblock the account of former US President Donald Trump on the social network Twitter. 

According to him, the ban decision had been “morally wrong”.

Elon Musk wants to undo the permanent ban on Donald Trump on Twitter

According to what he said in a Financial Times interview, it appears that Elon Musk is in favor of unbanning Donald Trump on Twitter. 

The former president’s account had been banned on 8 January 2021 on the decision of former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, soon after a crowd of the former president’s supporters invaded the US Capitol. 

But the notorious CEO of Tesla, and the one who is acquiring the social network for $44 billion, disagrees with the decision. In this regard, Musk said:

“I think it was a morally bad decision, and foolish in the extreme. I would reverse the permaban [on Trump]. Obviously I don’t own Twitter yet, so this is not a thing that will definitely happen”.

He added:

“Banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right. This is why it’s morally wrong and flat-out stupid”.

Elon Musk and the ban on Donald Trump as a “strong left-wing bias of Twitter”

Until now, the world’s richest man has been unwilling to take sides in the fight against Twitter’s moderation policies, even though he has repeatedly claimed to be the “champion of free speech,” i. e., the spokesman for freedom of thought and speech. 

But now Musk has called the blockade on Trump a “strong left-wing bias” within the social media company, referring mainly to the location of its headquarters in San Francisco. 

According to Musk, this political orientation of Twitter makes it difficult to build trust in other parts of the United States and perhaps even the world. In fact, according to him, Twitter needs to be more balanced. 

Finally, Musk also said that although he opposes lifetime bans, he still thinks it is fair to sometimes suspend users’ accounts or make some of their tweets less visible to other Twitter users. 

From new owner to CEO of the social network

It was recently revealed that Musk, the new owner of Twitter, is also expected to serve as CEO of the social network, albeit on a temporary basis and for a few months. 

If so, Musk would certainly have the backing of Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who in reference to the latest issue over Trump’s account (which he himself banned), reportedly commented as follows:

it was a business decision, it shouldn’t have been. and we should always revisit our decisions and evolve as necessary. I stated in that thread and still believe that permanent bans of individuals are directionally wrong.

— jack⚡️ (@jack) May 10, 2022

“It was a business decision, it shouldn’t have been. and we should always revisit our decisions and evolve as necessary. I stated in that thread and still believe that permanent bans of individuals are directionally wrong”.

On the other hand, someone who is not very supportive of such a scenario is Twitter’s current CEO, Parag Agrawal, who has been leading the company for only a few months (since November). 

And in fact, Agrawal reportedly told company employees that Twitter’s future is uncertain now that Elon Musk will become its owner.