Donald Trump has reportedly been telling associates that Google has been sabotaging his new social media platform by not making it available on Android devices.
“Is Google trying to f–k me?” the former president has been asking friends and advisers in the weeks since the rollout of Truth Social. His remarks were reported by Rolling Stone.
Truth Social, which was created as a right-wing alternative to Twitter after Trump was banned from the microblogging site for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol, was launched in February.
The app has been available solely on Apple devices. As of Thursday, Truth Social cannot be downloaded by anyone using Android, which controls nearly 70% of the global operating system market and 42% of the domestic market.
“He keeps hearing about how Google and YouTube have it out for him … including on Truth Social, and I think he’s taking [it] seriously,” a source was quoted as telling Rolling Stone.
Despite Trump’s suspicions, Truth Social is inaccessible to Android users because it has yet to file the required paperwork seeking approval for its listing on the Play Store, Rolling Stone reported, citing “an individual familiar with the matter and two Trumpworld sources with knowledge of the situation.”
The Post has reached out to the former president and to Google seeking comment.
Trump has touted Truth Social and vowed to stay off Twitter despite Elon Musk’s pledge to reinstate the former president’s account should the Tesla boss complete his $44 billion takeover of the San Francisco-based company.
Since the launch, Truth Social has experienced technical glitches and a departure of key executives despite the fact that it has been downloaded roughly 1.4 million times, according to Sensor Tower.
Just last month, Trump repeatedly brought up the topic of Google’s alleged ban of Truth Social. He is said to have wondered aloud whether the company was trying to “screw with me.”
On at least one other occasion, the 45th president has asked associates: “What’s up with Google?”
Devin Nunes, the former GOP congressman who was named CEO of Truth Social’s parent company Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), said earlier this month that he expects the app to be available on web browsers by the end of May.
In a post on the platform, Nunes also said Truth Social has not yet been approved for launch in the Google Play store for Android devices.
“End of May we will launch PWA (Web Browser) this will allow access from any device,” Nunes wrote. “After that we will launch an Android App… pending approval from Google!”
Availability in the Google Play and Apple App stores is key to the app’s ability to scale up.
Truth Social launched in the Apple App store on Feb. 21 and was for a time the most downloaded free app there.
TMTG is planning to go public through a merger with blank-check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp. The deal is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission and is likely months away from being finalized.
With Post wires