There was speculation that Mr Musk, a self-declared free speech absolutist, would rescind the Twitter ban imposed on Mr Trump following claims he incited protesters to attack the US Capitol building in January 2021. However, the ex-US President said that he was going to stay on Truth Social, a conservative alternative to what the New York-born billionaire sees as the more liberal social media platforms such as Twitter.
He said: “I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH.
“We’re taking in millions of people, and what we’re finding is that the response on TRUTH is much better than being on Twitter.
“The bottom line is, no, I am not going back to Twitter.”
However, Mr Trump went on to say that he thought that Twitter could become a competitor of Truth Social under Mr Musk’s stewardship.
He said: “I think it is good.
“We want liberty and justice and fairness in our country, and the more we can have open, the better.
“But no, I don’t view that as a competition for what I am doing.
“This is a platform for my voice.
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“The interaction on TRUTH has been amazing.”
He added: “We want everybody.”
However, there was scepticism on social media that Mr Trump would stay off the platform in the long term.
Twitter users felt he may return now Mr Musk had bought the site in a $44billion (£35billion) deal and also if he launches a bid to return to the White House in 2024.
@Bryan_Keeley1 said: “Yeah once elon musk pays him to come back lol.”
@Tholadar added: “He will be back for elections.”
@Muzz1943 said: “But, but he’s NOT on Troth Sential either…..
He’s on Telegram, and all he does there is sell coins, books and pills that cure everything.”
@MrPringles210 added: “He’ll change his mind in 5 minutes.”