Elon Musk says he would reverse Twitter's 'foolish' ban on Donald Trump
The tycoon said: "Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots or spam, scam accounts. I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake because it... did not ultimately result in Trump not having a voice."
Tuesday 10 May 2022 19:43, UK
Billionaire Elon Musk, who is set to buy Twitter, has said he would reverse the platform's "foolish" ban on former US president Donald Trump if his acquisition goes through.
The tech tycoon said: "Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots or spam, scam accounts. I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump.
"I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice."
"I would reverse the permanent ban," Mr Musk added. "I don't own Twitter yet. So this is not like a thing that will definitely happen, because what if I don't own Twitter?"
Mr Musk went on: "I think permanent bans just fundamentally undermine trust in Twitter as a town square where everyone can voice their opinion. I think it was a morally bad decision [to ban him] and foolish in the extreme."
He claimed his disapproval for permanent bans was shared by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey.
Speaking to the Financial Times at a summit, Mr Musk said Mr Trump is "now going to be on Truth Social [another social media platform] as will a large part of the right in the United States and so I think this can frankly end up worse than having a single form where everyone can debate".
Mr Trump was permanently suspended from Twitter in January 2021 following the attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.
The tech company said it made the decision after the 6 January riot "due to the risk of further incitement of violence".
Mr Trump at the time had more than 80 million followers on the platform.
But once Mr Musk announced he was interested in taking over the company in part to make it a free speech platform, questions arose about whether he would invite Mr Trump back on.
Mr Trump said last month he would not return to the company if he had the chance.
"No, I won't be going back on Twitter," the former president told CNBC's Joe Kernen.
"I will be on Truth Social within the week. Its on schedule. We have a lot of people signed up. I like Elon Musk. I like him a lot. He's an excellent individual. We did a lot for Twitter when I was in the White House. I was disappointed by the way I was treated by Twitter. I won't be going back on Twitter," he said.
But the Tesla owner told the Financial Times: "I would reverse the permanent ban but I don't own Twitter yet."
"Banning Donald Trump didn't end Trump's voice. It will amplify it among the right," he said.
Mr Musk said banning Mr Trump was a "morally bad decision and foolish in the extreme".
He pointed out that Mr Trump had previously said he would not return to Twitter even if his account was reinstated.
Mr Musk said he had spoken to Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey on the subject of locking users out of their social media accounts in response to offensive tweets.
"He and I are of the same mind that permanent bans should be extremely rare and reserved for accounts that are bots or scam accounts," he said.
"I do think that it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice."
He said if someone tweeted something "illegal or otherwise destructive to the world" there should be temporary suspension or the post should be made invisible.
Mr Musk said he believed Twitter needed to build more trust by sharing its algorithm and asking people to make suggestions on how to improve it.
He said the company had a strong left bias because of its origins in the San Francisco tech community and needed to be "more even-handed".
"Victory would be the far right 10% and the far left 10% are equally upset," he said.
Don’t run mad and insult or threat people because your candidate is running for President. You are jobless. Many of those you insult because of 2023 are employers who can employ you. Let politicians focus on the next election. You focus on your next promotion!
I’ve never seen people who insult and threaten like some of Peter Obi’s online supporters. The damage they have done to him is unquantifiable. @PeterObi is an excellent candidate! He is full of love. But a few people have killed ANY chance of him winning PDP primary.
These people hardly make any attempt to persuade or market a man with one of the most marketable resumes in Nigeria. Rather, they look for people who hold contrary views and then start to alienate them. Are these guys saboteurs paid by Peter Obi’s opponents or what?
Other people are online appealing for their candidates and lobbying for votes. You guys are here saying ‘if PDP don’t give their ticket to Peter Obi we will deal with them’. What kind of strategy is that? Are you guys fighting a civil war or contesting an election?
The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But The Truth on Jonathan Picking An APC Presidential Form
So yesterday there was a lot of hullabaloo on social media and there was a lot of, you know, rumours and back and forth about Former President Jonathan joining the All Progressive Congress and picking an APC form.
And you know, I would have come out early enough to debunk that story, but the thing is I was on a flight. I am currently in Israel, you know, I've just landed, I have not actually. . .I've not even changed my clothes, I have not even had a shower, I've just literally landed in Israel. And so you are going to see the photo, I mean, I have been on a flight. . . on a flight for like 12 hours. Fortunately some of the way on the flight I had Internet, so I was communicating with journalists in Nigeria and other influential persons who contacted me.
Beyond. . .and I communicated with Former President Jonathan, you know. I was initially from the air, you know, just going to release something. We put something together, you know and then we crafted it, which eventually came out, but I just counselled, I said, "Listen, you know what? We are getting so much attention from our enemies and from haters and from the media and from political opponents, you know, people who are dancing and they are becoming delirious because they think that, 'Oh, Jonathan is actually finally in the mud. We can rejoice". Because they thought that they destroyed Jonathan in 2015 and they destroyed people who are affiliated with him, like myself.
And so I said, you know what? Because this is something that is very important to me. When false information has been made against you, when you've been accused falsely and you have the evidence to prove that it is false, you don't immediately rush and then debunk it. You're losing a golden opportunity.
And what's that opportunity? You need to see the reaction or responses of people, so that you know how many dead plants you have been watering. You know how many frenemies that are there. Because a lot of these people, when they finally think that you are down, then you are going to see their reactions, you are going to see their responses, they can't hide it anymore. Then you begin to realise, "Oh my God! So this person that I thought was a friend was really an enemy? This person I thought was a lover was really a hater"?
So that's what I told Former President Jonathan, I said, "Look, we have the evidence, let's not rush it, let's just wait and see", you know. We talked to the editors, we talked to the news, the media, telling them that, "Look, we are going to give you information just before you go to press, but let us see the responses from people" and then we did. I saw a lot of responses, I saw a lot of views, I saw a lot of people, I saw. . .I mean I don't want to mention names, but I saw people.
And that. . .it's important to me. Now we've crossed a number of people, "OK, these people are not reliable, these people are not reliable, these people are not reliable".
I've said it before, look, I am not a member of a political party, but I have sympathies for the People's Democratic Party and I have only had sympathies for them throughout my political career. I have never shifted. I am a stable person.
And you know, this was what caused my quarrel with Nasir El-Rufai. Nasir El-Rufai and I were very very close. A lot of these boys that are hanging around him, spending his money and taking crumbs from him, they are not as close as I used to be with Nasir El-Rufai.
But then, in October of 2010, precisely October 6th, Nasir El-Rufai called me in California then and began talking some strange talk about Buhari and I said, "No, no, no, look I am not that kind of person". I am in politics for principles and I refuse to follow him and that's how we quarrelled and that's how he started sponsoring all kinds of stuff about me, trying to damage me, till today.
So, the APC as far as I am concerned is an evil demonic party, it has destroyed Nigeria's economy and we need somebody to come and revive it. So I can never be a part of the APC. And if anybody goes into the APC thinking I'm going to go with them, It's not going to happen.
And I have said this before. I am telling you, I do not believe that Former President Jonathan is . . . the man has said it several times, I have said it several times. But I'm going to say this, I will continue to support and to promote the People's Democratic Party because I think, it's not a perfect vehicle, but I think that it is the most pan-Nigerian vehicle that can bring unity to Nigeria, bring everybody together, build up the economy, you know and then address the security and build prosperity for everybody. And so I'll continue to do that.
I am currently in Israel. I am shooting my documentary series, Reno Around The World, and so I'm going to be swimming in the Dead Sea, some of you literally saw me swim at the Bermuda Triangle and also in other parts of the world, I was in Iceland, so I am now here to swim in the Dead Sea.
So that was the real reason that I wasn't able to be as communicative as I would normally be on social media.
This is Reno Omokri all the way from Israel and I'll talk to you guys very soon. Bye-bye.
To those who think I am in a dilemma, just be patient. You will all be so disappointed with yourselves and your premature celebration when you see my next tweet. I am, after all, the #TableShaker! You guys are so easy to manipulate. They just yank your chain and you drink kunu.
After I tweet, somebody should please go and check on that bitter leaf boardroom and possible bedroom partner of that beautiful hypocrite, to make sure she does not drink sniper tonight. You know yourself. I could have tweeted since. But I wanted to yank your chain
First of all, to whet your appetite, let me say that under the rain and under the sun, I will follow Jonathan. Secondly secondly, I can’t ever be one with APC. Thirdly, nobody can shave HE @GEJonathan’s head in his absence. Read between the lines. More to come!
BREAKING�: A Fulani group has purchased the APC Presidential expression of interest and nomination form for former President Goodluck Jonathan today, according to reports.
When did GEJ become a member of the APC??
The 2023 presidential race just got blown wide open
HomoSapienSapie: The Businessmen you mentioned are the few exceptions, I am being general. As a people, a nation there is a general distrust that makes us shy away from investing in ourselves.
About government lobbying it happens mostly with all ready established businesses. But what about stateups? People with ideas but no financial capacity nor necessary government connection. "Angel investors with idealists" built most first world countries today not really the government.
1) First you said that becoming rich in Nigeria is only through politics. Then I give you names of well known people that have become rich without getting involved in politics and you at first dismissed some of them because they are entertainers, then you dismissively say that the rest are exceptions. It seems that you are wrong when you claim that you can only be rich in Nigeria through politics and you'll just keep shifting the goalpost by dismissing anyone that does not fit your narrative. Very many people have become wealthy in Nigeria without government intervention and the number is more than those that had government intervention. That's the fact.
2) You are also incorrect when you claim that people are not investing in people. Go and read Cosmas Maduka's story and find out how people invested in him. Also read about his problems with Ifeanyi Ubah and learn how he invested in others. Go and read about how Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is investing in others.
Of course, not everybody is successful in business, but just as some people are failing, others are also succeeding.
By the way, it is not only established companies that lobby governments in the developed world. Small businesses also band together as cooperatives and lobby governments for subsidies and so on and so forth. Go and find out what farmers in the European Union did in the 1990s.
Finally (this is going to be my last post on this matter because it seems as if you are typing from personal experience and not the general experience) I always find it interesting when people post opposite views, so I'm going to show you the posts of someone whose views are the opposite of yours.
naptu2: I am posting this because of something that seriously annoys me.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s I became aware of the way that American and European governments vigorously defend and promote private companies in their countries. They do this so that the companies will become profitable, pay taxes and employ people.
For example, in the 1990s campaigners complained about the subsidies that were paid to European farmers which made their agricultural products cheaper. It's almost 30 years now, so I can't remember the exact figures, but they said something like the subsidies paid on one cow in Europe was more than what farmers in Africa got for 30 cows.
I also remember the way that the US Government fought the Japanese to ensure that US automobiles and other technological products were not killed off by the extremely efficient and popular Japanese products in the 1980s. The US Government also fought the Chinese to ensure greater access for US goods in China and, just as with Japan, to ensure that the Chinese were not artificially keeping the value of their currency low in order to promote exports.
In more recent times, we all remember the bail out plans that the US Government had for American airlines after 9/11 and the funds given to the US auto industry during the Obama era.
I remember that the US president regularly took business leaders on overseas trips with him, so that they could sign trade deals with their counterparts in the host country and I was happy when President Babangida took people like Chief Sonny Odogwu and Chief Gabriel Igbinedion on one of his overseas trips in the late '80s or early '90s (that was the first time that I ever saw a Nigerian president do that).
However, unfortunately, anytime that the Nigerian Government attempts to provide similar aid to Nigerian businesses, it is met with criticisms and complaints from Nigerians who claim that government must not get involved in private businesses. The claim that governments in the West do not get involved in private businesses or assist them, but I know that what they are saying is complete nonsense. For example, we have had clashes between herders and crop farmers for generations. One of the reasons for this is because the government has often provided assistance to crop farmers, but it has almost never provided similar assistance to herders. The government has made a lot of proposals to change this situation and ensure that herders can establish ranches, but some strange people claim that government should not get involved in private businesses. They do not know what they are talking about.
Similarly, the Dangote Group is one of the major companies that has helped us increase domestic production and exports of goods. Governments all over the world provide assistance to such companies for the reasons that I stated above (to create jobs, increase taxes and boost the economy), but there is always an uproar anytime the government attempts to provide similar assistance to the company and this is mainly by people who claim that the government must not get involved with private companies.
Yet these same people hail foreign governments when they help foreign companies. Can you imagine that?
HomoSapienSapie: Wizkid and Burna Boy are entertainers not everybody can be that, but in terms of entrepreneurship most times the individual with the ideas maybe different from the one with the financial capacity. In Nigeria I have figured we don't generally like working together most especially when it comes to investing in others.
Not everybody can get succeed in every kind of business, but entertainment is a business and it shows that becoming rich in Nigeria is not only through politics. You didn't address the other people I mentioned, Cosmas Maduka, Leo Stan Ekeh, Iyin Aboyeji and co (there are also many others that became wealthy without being involved in politics).
Meanwhile, most businessmen all over the world lobby governments in one way or another. It doesn't only happen in Nigeria.
Foreign Affairs › Re: Elon Musk Would Reverse Donald Trump's Twitter Ban by naptu2(op): 7:54pm On May 10, 2022
