Trump Returns to Platform Formerly Known as Twitter, Posts His Mug Shot

NEW YORK (NEWSnet/AP) — Donald Trump has returned to X, formerly known as Twitter, sending his first message to that legacy social media site in more than 2 1/2 years.

The former president posted a photo of his mug shot taken Thursday at an Atlanta jail, which was a consequence of charges he conspired to overturn his 2020 election loss. The message also included the words “Election interference. Never surrender!” along with a link to his website, which directs to a fundraising page.

It was Trump's first post there since Jan. 8, 2021, when Twitter suspended his account indefinitely, citing fears he would incite additional violence following the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol building. His account was reinstated last November shortly after Elon Musk took over the company.

But Trump had refrained from tweeting, insisting that he was happier on his own Truth Social site, which he launched in the meantime.

Trump's post came as he was aboard his private plane, flying back from Atlanta to his summer home in New Jersey late Thursday.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the post was a one-off, or whether he intends to continue to post regularly on the site. He had posted the same message on Truth Social earlier in the night and continued to promote the site late Thursday.

Nonetheless, the message marked a return of sorts for Trump to one of his most important megaphones — one he used to dominate his rivals in the 2016 primary and to command the news cycle for years. Trump often marveled at how quickly statements from his account would be seen on cable news stations with a "breaking news" introduction.

The new post came a day after Trump skipped the first Republican primary debate, choosing instead to tape an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that was posted on X at the start of the debate.

Trump has 86.6 million followers on what is now known as X, dwarfing his rivals in the 2024 race. But the platform has undergone significant changes since Trump left it, including Musk changing its name.

Trump did resume posting on Facebook in March, weeks after his personal account there was reactivated.

But he has mainly stayed active on Truth Social, a Twitter lookalike service he launched after he was suspended from Twitter and Facebook, for a daily stream of missives, announcements and shares.

As part of his deal with Digital World Acquisition Corp. to take Truth Social public, Trump agreed that it would be the “first channel” for “any and all social media communications and posts coming from his personal profile,” according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

That included an exclusivity clause in which the former president was “generally obligated to make any social media post on Truth Social and may not make the same post on another social media site for 6 hours” for a period of 18 months, beginning Dec. 22, 2021. That time frame ended in June.

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