Donald Trump has officially been handed back the keys to his Facebook and Instagram accounts. A spokesperson for Meta Platforms Inc. confirmed that the former president’s access to both social media platforms had been restored on Thursday, following a two-year suspension due to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots that left five people dead.
The company’s decision comes months after Elon Musk lifted Trump’s Twitter ban back in November 2022 — though he has yet to return to the platform, opting instead to stay in his Truth Social echo chamber. It’s unclear whether Trump will actively start posting on Facebook and Instagram again amid his 2024 presidential bid, but one would have to imagine the platforms would prove useful tools for the marketing arm for his campaign.
The news comes after a Jan. 25 announcement in which the company said that it would end the suspension of Trump’s accounts in the coming weeks.
“The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances,” said Nick Clegg, President of Meta’s Global Affairs, in a statement. “The normal state of affairs is that the public should be able to hear from a former President of the United States, and a declared candidate for that office again, on our platforms. Now that the time period of the suspension has elapsed, the question is not whether we choose to reinstate Mr. Trump’s accounts, but whether there remain such extraordinary circumstances that extending the suspension beyond the original two-year period is justified.”
However, Clegg noted that even when reinstated, Trump is subject to following Community Standards, just like any other Facebook and Instagram user. Should he resume posting violating content, his account now faces heightened penalties imposed on repeat offenders.
So, we’ll see how long this lasts, anyway.
At any rate, these days Trump seems less interested in overthrowing democracy and more preoccupied with trolling 2024 GOP frontrunner Ron DeSantis on Truth Social. Strange times we’re living in, these are.