Defending Elon's Trump Decision

Trump: Twitter Ban & Reinstatement

On January 8, 2021, President Donald J. Trump tweeted:

The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!

Shortly after, Trump tweeted:

To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.

On January 8, 2021, Twitter published a statement saying:

Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks. After assessing the language in these Tweets against our Glorification of Violence policy, we have determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service.

On November 19, 2022, following a Twitter poll that found over 50% of surveyed users wanted to see Trump back on Twitter, Elon Musk reinstated Donald Trump's account with the tweet:

The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

Celebrity Tweets

On November 20, comedian Judd Apatow tweeted:

Why does @elonmusk think a poll determines if Trump is on the platform and not a review of Trump’s actions? This isn’t American Idol. People died as a result of his actions on January 6.

On November 19, actor Rob Reiner tweeted:

Elon Musk is letting a man who led a violent Insurrection to overthrow the United States Government back on this platform. Letting the Lies and Disinformation continue to poison the American bloodstream.

Active on Twitter When Trump Was Banned

• The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh
• The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
• The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro

For more details, including Twitter usernames and tweets, see Quick Conservative's earlier post: Twitter's Hypocrisy.

January 6 Deaths 

• Ashli Babbit (only invidiual killed on January 6): Shot by U.S. Capitol Police
• Kevin Greeson: Hypertensive Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (Natural Causes)
• Benjamin Phillips: Hypertensive Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (Natural Causes)
• Roseanne Boyland: Acute Amphetamine Intoxication (Accident)
• Officer Brian Sicknick: Stroke (January 7)
• Officer Howard Liebengood: Suicide (January 9)
• Officer Jeffrey Smith: Suicide (January 15)
• FactCheck.org confirms that, while [they] "take no position in the debate over whom to include in the deaths from the riots," there was only one shooting death on January 6. The fact-checker also notes two heart attacks, one accidental overdose, one stroke, and four suicides. Importantly, this suicide total includes two officers who committed suicide six months after January 6. Given the time table, these two suicides were not included in the post: Kyle DeFreytag who was not involved in clashes with rioters (instead, DeFreytag was deployed to enforce the curfew after the mob had been cleared) - authorities also "drew no connection between the riot and his death" - and Robert J. Contee III. The chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, said “that he could not say whether the riot was the cause of the suicides."

Trump Impeachment: Not Guilty

On February 13, 2021, the Senate voted (57-43) to acquit former President Donald Trump of "incitement of insurrection."