Former US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will not return to social media platform Twitter even if his account is reinstated following the platform’s purchase by billionaire Elon Musk.
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Trump told Fox News that he will formally join his own Truth Social startup over the next seven days, as planned.
“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth,” Trump told Fox News. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth,” Trump said.
Twitter on Monday confirmed it is selling the platform to the billionaire entrepreneur in a deal valued at $44 billion.
The sale was a dramatic shift for the board, which had originally maneuvered to block Musk from taking the social media network private.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a joint release announcing the takeover.
Musk had taken a major stake in the firm earlier this month before lining up last week some $46.5 billion in financing to push forward with the purchase.
The polarizing Tesla chief’s campaign to buy the social media giant sparked concern that his unpredictable statements and alleged bullying are contradictory to his stated aims for the platform.
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