- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
- 'Unspeakable horror': the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- Christian villagers 'trapped' in south Lebanon crossfire
- Sabalenka sets up Gauff showdown in Wuhan semis
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Kim Sei-young holds lead with late birdies at LPGA Shanghai
- Toulouse welcome Dupont 'boost' as Olympic star returns to Top 14
- Japanese atomic bomb survivor group Nihon Hidankyo wins Nobel Peace Prize
- Deadly Israeli strike on Beirut likely targeted Hezbollah security chief
- Bangladesh Islamist chief backs crimes against humanity trial for ex-PM
- Everest climber's remains believed found after 100 years
- 20 Pakistan coal miners shot dead in attack
- Clashes on South China Sea, Ukraine dominate Asia summit
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Zelensky meets Pope, Scholz as whirlwind Europe tour ends
- Hello Hallyu: why is South Korean culture sweeping the globe?
- UK economy rebounds in August in boost to new govt
- Voice of Japan's beloved robot cat 'Doraemon' dies
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
A Musk-owned Twitter opens door to potential Trump return
Four days after Twitter permanently suspended Donald Trump's account on January 8, 2021, the then-US president's son pleaded with entrepreneur Elon Musk to employ his "brilliance" to launch a social media platform that "isn't biased" to crush the competition.
Musk didn't accept Donald Trump Jr's challenge.
But the Tesla chief's deal to acquire Twitter sets him up to revisit the ban on the brash Republican -- a move that could roil US politics as the nation marches towards the 2024 presidential race and a potential Trump re-election bid.
The Trump matter has loomed as a question mark throughout the twists and turns of the Twitter deal saga.
A reinstatement of Trump would have significant implications for a media landscape the ex-president once dominated before he was deplatformed "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
Since then, Trump has remained the most powerful figure in Republican politics, even as he has all but vanished from the daily news cycle.
When Trump does make news, he continues to claim the 2020 election was stolen from him, a false narrative that fuels his movement and sows distrust of US institutions.
- Irresistible? -
Trump has said he wouldn't return to Twitter even if offered, telling Fox News on Monday he would instead stay on his fledgling Truth Social platform, which has struggled to fully get off the ground.
On Tuesday, Truth Social was the most downloaded iPhone app, at least for that day. But its launch has been beset with technical problems and it has yet to make it onto the national political radar.
Nevertheless, many remain skeptical Trump would be able to resist rejoining Twitter if given the chance.
A Washington Post article Monday quoted anonymous Trump aides who said the ex-president badly misses Twitter, which he employed as president to settle scores and mold the news cycle.
While pursuing Twitter in recent weeks, Musk has not directly addressed the Trump question.
Analysts believe Musk is driven primarily by a desire to control a visible marketing platform more than aspirations to shape American politics.
But many read Musk's criticism of Twitter content policies as suggesting he will lift the Trump ban.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said Monday in announcing the deal.
- 'He sells news' -
A Trump reinstatement is not without downside for Musk, who could face pushback beyond the world of Twitter.
"Trump is about as polarizing an issue as any imaginable," said Daniel Binns, chief executive of Interbrand North America in New York.
"There might be some short-lived boycotting of Tesla amongst a small group of potential customers," Binns told AFP in an email.
"But long term, I would fear a more corrosive erosion of the affinity people have for Tesla and the sense of empathy they have for their customer base," he added.
Still, several experts in politics and social media characterized a Trump return as more likely than not in light of Musk's freedom of speech statements and Trump's standing as a potential 2024 Republican frontrunner.
New York Times columnist Kara Swisher urged readers to ready themselves for a shift from the "over-one-year-long respite from Trumpy Twitter."
Twitter executives "would have been under enormous pressure to reconsider the ban" even if the company had not been acquired by Musk, said Swisher, who predicted the deal will "probably run Truth Social" and other nascent sites "out of business."
Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, predicted Trump would again have an outsized presence if he rejoined Twitter.
"It's going to inject Trump back into the Republican mainstream," said Sabato, who calls Trump "the worst thing to happen to American Democracy in my lifetime."
Sabato thinks Trump will likely use Twitter to overshadow other politicians, including current President Joe Biden, "who doesn't fill the news hole" as Trump did.
Karen North, founding director of the digital social media program at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School, believes Trump would first give Truth Social a chance before returning to Twitter, if given the opportunity.
A key difference from Trump's White House days is that his statements are no longer newsworthy by default. That creates questions for journalists on how much to amplify the former president's comments, North said.
Trump "has surprising staying power," she added, noting that some of the fascination may be the result of his diminished presence in daily news.
"People are still so curious and so polarized by him," she said.
"He sells news."
L.Durand--AMWN