Former President Trump returns to Twitter, now X, with his photo

Former President Trump tweeted Thursday night for the first time in more than two years, breaking a long silence on the platform, now known as X, that persisted during Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover.

Trump’s first tweet since Jan. 8, 2021 came after he was jailed in an Atlanta jail on Thursday on 13 criminal charges related to election interference in the state of Georgia. The former president, who is seeking re-election in 2024, tweeted shortly after his photo was made public, an unusual and historic moment that continues to reverberate on social media.

In the tweet, the former president directed his more than 86 million followers on X to his WinRed fundraising page.

“Today at the notoriously violent Fulton County, Georgia Jail I was ARRESTED despite having committed NO CRIME,” the fundraiser read. “…If you can, please do your part to kick the crooked Joe Biden out of the White House and SAVE AMERICA during this dark chapter in our nation’s history. »

Trump associated the call to action with the words “ELECTORAL INTERFERENCE, NEVER GIVE UP!” and his own photo, which had already spread like wildfire Thursday night, inspiring a deluge of memes. Musk, a day after promoting Trump’s interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, retweeted Trump with the words “Next-level.”

Trump posted the same message to his six million followers on Truth Social, the alternative social platform he launched in 2022. While Trump was initially banned for life from Twitter for inciting violence during the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, Elon Musk reversed the ban — and many others — as part of the rollback of many of the platform’s longstanding moderation policies and safety practices.

The moment Trump chose to return to X, photo in tow, offers at least some levels of situational irony. For one thing, Trump was obviously kicked off the platform to begin with because of activity related to the charges he faces in the Georgia election interference case. But beyond the Georgia case, Trump faces looming federal charges stemming from an investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who extensively cited the former president’s tweets in an indictment that’s revealed more early this month.