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Elon Musk confirmed long speculation that he'd reverse former President Donald Trump's ban from Twitter after his acquisition of the social media company is completed.
“I think it was a morally bad decision to be clear and foolish in the extreme,” Musk said while speaking at the Financial Times’s “Future of the Car” event via the Hill.
“I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake,” the entrepreneur added. “It alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”
Twitter has accepted Elon Musk's $44 billion buyout, the company confirmed in a news release obtained by CNN on April 25 as part of a deal that is expected to close in 2022.
CNN reports shareholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter stock they own, which matches an original offer made by Musk and marks a 38% premium compared to its original listing price on the day Musk initially revealed his stake in the social media company.
The billionaire's decision to purchase the social media company followed criticism from conservatives of Twitter's enforcement of its rules and banned Trump based on his social media posts playing a role in the lead-up to the the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
The Twitter Safety Account announced Trump's account was suspended due to tweets and "the context around them" in relation to "the risk of further incitement of violence" following protests by his supporters at the United States Capitol building forced legislators to evacuate the House and Senate chambers on January 6, 2021.
"After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.
"In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open."
"However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules entirely and cannot use Twitter to incite violence, among other things. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.
Twitter shared an overview of a tweet from Trump's account on January 8, 2021 in which the former president tweeted the following:
"“The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”
Trump then shared an additional tweet in which he announced,“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”
Twitter cited that the two tweets "can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks," and "determined that these Tweets are in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy and the user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service," amid ongoing tensions in the United States following the incident on January 6, 2021.