Given their shared tendency to put their foot in their mouth, you’d think a business venture between Donald Trump and Elon Musk might be prosperous. A collaboration between a former President and the second-richest man in the world has a nice ring to it, if it weren’t for the fact that Trump and Musk have proven to wield their power in terrifying ways in the past.
Which leads us to Truth Social, the social networking platform launched by Trump in 2022.
According to new reports from The Washington Post, the former (and hopeful) President reached out to Musk with a deal involving him in Truth Social. So, what are the details of the deal, and are we collectively at risk of a social media feed populated by Trump and Musk selfies?
Did Donald Trump really ask Elon Musk to buy Truth Social last year?
According to WaPo, Trump asked Musk last summer whether he would consider buying Truth Social. News of the potential buyout comes courtesy of two unnamed sources, who claim that ultimately, despite Trump’s eagerness, the deal was never reached.
The sources outline a range of discussions between Trump and Musk that were not previously known by the public, including a recent meeting in Florida in which Musk met with high-powered Republican donors. Reports claim that the meeting took place while Trump was looking for campaign donations for his 2024 Presidential run, though Musk was quick to write on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he is “not donating money to either candidate.”
Speaking of X/Twitter/whateveryouwanttocall it, the social platform has played host to other discussions between Musk and Trump in the past. In 2022, Musk took to X — a platform he acquired that year — to criticise Truth Social, saying the social network has a “terrible name” and only exists “because Twitter censored free speech.”
According to The Washington Post, Trump responded to Musk’s criticisms on Truth Social, telling the billionaire that he should focus on cleaning up the “Twitter mess” and saying the platform is “perhaps worthless.” Despite trading barbs, Musk was staunchly against Trump’s Twitter ban in 2021, when the former President was booted from the platform following the January 6 riots on the Capitol.
Musk promptly reinstated Trump’s account upon acquiring Twitter, but the former president has only posted once since. Trump’s minimal posts on Twitter are reportedly an effort to retain the value of Truth Social, but without the backing of a Musk buyout, the platform might be headed for the drain anyway (we can only hope).