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Trump returns to Twitter, under its new moniker X

by Brett Samuels - 08/24/23 9:48 PM ET

Former President Trump on Thursday posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, for the first time since January 2021 to share an image of his mug shot following his surrender in Fulton County, Ga., on Thursday evening.

It was the first time Trump posted on the social media platform since his account was suspended shortly after the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. Trump was known during his 2016 campaign and his first term in the White House for using Twitter prolifically to share everything from jabs at his political opponents and to announcing major decisions out of the White House.

Trump had already posted the mug shot Thursday on Truth Social, a platform that he has a financial stake in, just before he unexpectedly posted on X on his @realdonaldtrump handle, which had been dormant for more than two years.

There are stipulations that require Trump to post content exclusively to Truth Social before putting it on another platform.

His account on X was reinstated this year after Elon Musk purchased the platform, but Trump had not posted on there before Thursday. He was midair when the X post was made, flying back from Atlanta to New Jersey after he was booked in the Fulton County Jail following his fourth indictment, for which he took his first mug shot.

Trump posted an image of his mug shot on Truth Social with the words, “Election Interference” and “Never Surrender!” The former president included a link to his campaign website, which features a prominent request for donations on the homepage.

“Today, at the notoriously violent jail in Fulton County, Georgia, I was ARRESTED despite having committed NO CRIME,” the fundraising solicitation reads.

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Several of his aides separately had previously shared the post on X, as the former president and his team seek to rally support after his fourth arrest this year on criminal charges.

Trump was charged last week with 13 counts stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. The indictment, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, outlined Trump’s pressure campaign against election officials, a plot to submit false slates of electors and a lawsuit seeking to overturn the results in the state.

Updated at 10:07 p.m. ET