Is Donald Trump set to return to Facebook and Twitter? Read what campaigners wrote to Meta

Former US President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team petitioned social networking platform Facebook’s parent company Meta to restore his account two years after it was blocked following the Jan 6 US Capitol riots.

According to a letter accessed by NBC News, Trump’s campaign wrote to Meta: “We believe that the ban on President Trump’s account on Facebook has dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse.” 

While many thought that Trump would resort to threatening a lawsuit, the letter instead, highlighted the importance of free speech and urged Meta for a “meeting to discuss President Trump’s prompt reinstatement to the platform.” A spokesperson for Meta did not clarify the company’s plans, but said that it will soon “announce a decision in the coming weeks in line with the process we laid out.”

An adviser to Trump who had spoken to the erstwhile president about Facebook said that his presidential campaign is certain that the social networking company will accept the wish. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the adviser added that House Republicans are set to pressurise Meta and speak on Trump’s behalf if his account does not get reinstated.

Will Trump return to Twitter? 

“If Facebook wants to have this fight, fine, but the House is leverage, and keeping Trump off Facebook just looks political,” the adviser said. Earlier in 2021, both Facebook and Twitter had banned Trump’s account after he was accused of inciting violence among his supporters who stormed the US Capitol to disrupt the certification process of Joe Biden’s election win.

While Facebook decided that it would conduct a review after two years, i.e. Jan 7 this year, Twitter had already reinstated Trump’s account earlier in November but failed to witness the ex-president resume his activity on the platform.

“Trump is probably coming back to Twitter. It’s just a question of how and when. He’s been talking about it for weeks, but Trump speaks for Trump, so it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll do or say or when,” said a Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity.