Trump says he won’t return to Twitter even with Elon Musk in charge

Former President Donald Trump said Monday he would not return to his former favorite social media site if new owner Elon Musk lifts Twitter’s controversial permanent ban against him.

Trump told Fox News that he plans to instead use his own fledgling Truth Social app, which launched in February, because its platform is “much better” than Twitter.

“I’m not going on Twitter, I’m going to stick to the truth,” Trump said.

“I hope Elon buys Twitter because he will make improvements on it and he’s a good man, but I’m sticking to the truth.”

Trump said Truth Social is “much better than Twitter,” adding, “Twitter has bots and fake accounts.”

He also said that Twitter “has become very boring with conservatives getting dumped or getting off the platform when I left.”

Trump told Fox News that he plans to start posting regularly on Truth Social within a week.

Since an opening message in February that said: “Get ready! Your favorite President will see you soon!”

Twitter on Monday agreed to accept a $44 billion takeover bid from Musk, the world’s richest man and a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist.”

Trump was banned from Twitter and other social media platforms after his supporters stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6 and disrupted congressional certification of his election loss to President Joe Biden.

Twitter cited “the risk of further incitement to violence” by Trump, who was a prolific tweeter with nearly 90 million followers.

Truth Social has been plagued by problems since its free iPhone app was unveiled, with potential users being put on a long waiting list and Android owners being locked out entirely.

Two key executives resigned earlier this month and the company, which plans to go public, has tumbled nearly 40 percent since Musk announced he had bought a stake in Twitter.

Truth Social, whose CEO is Trump ally and former US Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), switched to a new, cloud-based hosting service four days ago, Fox News said.