Before interview with Musk

Trump makes a surprising return to X

(Bild: APA/AFP/Olivier Douliery, AP, Krone KREATIV)

After years of absence, former US President Donald Trump is once again using his legendary account @realDonaldTrump on the social network X (formerly Twitter). In the run-up to an interview with X owner Elon Musk, Trump made several posts on X early Monday afternoon (local time), including a campaign video and an invitation to the interview.

After being banned from Twitter following the January 6, 2021 riot attempt due to the risk of inciting violence, Trump set up his own "Truth Social" network. Even after the takeover of Twitter by Musk and the lifting of the ban, the former president had stayed away from the network, apart from publishing the police photo following his arrest in August of the previous year.

In a video published by Trump, he presents himself as a fighter against a supposedly existing "deep state". The court cases against him are presented as part of a conspiracy against Trump.

Here you can see the questionable video on Trump's X channel:

Twitter was Trump's favorite platform as US president
Trump's X account still has 88 million followers. The real estate tycoon made massive use of the network, which is popular with politicians and journalists, to conduct public relations work away from the conventional media. According to experts, this contributed significantly to him winning the presidential election in 2016. As US President, he also preferred to communicate via his Twitter account. He repeatedly offended even his own advisors with provocative and erratic tweets.

Musk also a disseminator of disinformation
X owner Musk recently revealed himself to be a supporter of Trump. On Monday evening (local time, Tuesday night CEST), the entrepreneur wanted to conduct an "interview" with his political idol. The native South African has no journalistic experience. In his own network, he repeatedly attracts attention for spreading disinformation.