President Donald Trump shocked social media users Thursday when he returned to X—formerly known as Twitter—to make his first post in the more than two years since his account was suspended over the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
The post, which followed his booking and subsequent release Thursday night from the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, included a picture of his mug shot and a brief but bold message of defiance:
“Election Interference. Never surrender!” he wrote at 9:39 p.m. ET, adding a link to his campaign website.
Almost immediately the post went viral, garnering more than 7 million views in just 24 minutes. In the hours since, that number has multiplied to 136 million views, and counting.
The 45th president’s Twitter (X) account was suspended just days after the Capitol breach. It was restored late last year after Twitter owner Elon Musk acquired the company, but it remained inactive until Thursday.
In response to President Trump’s post, Mr. Musk shared it with the caption, “Next-level.”
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1694903930981884041
And he was far from the only person to comment.
Well into Friday morning, the phrase “he’s back” trended on X, as more than 150,000 people used it to weigh in on the former president’s return.
“He’s back. Let the games begin,” wrote psychologist and political commentator Dr. Jordan Peterson.
Among those celebrating the news were some of President Trump’s more prominent supporters, including Arizona Republican Kari Lake, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), political commentator Lou Dobbs, actress Roseanne Barr, and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.
Meanwhile, detractors emphasized the former president’s arrest.
‘Election Interference’
President Trump’s Thursday arrest was his fourth in five months for various criminal charges that he says are all part of a coordinated attempt to thwart his third presidential bid.Two of those arrests revolve around his challenge of the 2020 election, including the case in Georgia, where he and 18 of his associates have been charged with racketeering and dozens of other crimes.
On Thursday, the former president surrendered himself to authorities at the Fulton County Jail at around 7:36 p.m. local time and was released roughly 20 minutes later on a $200,000 bond.
After making his way back to the airport, he briefly addressed reporters on the tarmac, saying he believed it was “a very sad day for America.”
“This should never happen … You should be able to challenge an election,” President Trump said. “I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election, and I should have every right to do that.”
Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams, he noted, have also challenged election results and never been charged with a crime.
“What has taken place here is a travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong—I did nothing wrong—and everybody knows it,” he added, reasserting his belief that the charges against him amounted to election interference.
And others have echoed that perspective, including Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
“The indictments are nothing but election interference,” the congressman wrote in a Thursday X post. “We CANNOT let our institutions become political weapons. If they’ll do it to Trump, they’ll do it to anyone.
“America is a country based on freedom, liberty, free speech & free thought,” he added. “This is a disgusting abuse of power.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, for her part, has said that she and those in her office have “no personal feelings” against those they prosecute.
“This is business, it will never be personal,” she wrote in an Aug. 9 email to staff obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Viral Interview
President Trump’s return to X was preceded by an exclusive interview he did with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which was posted on the platform the night before.That interview, like his Thursday post, quickly caught the attention of millions of users despite airing at the same time as the first GOP presidential primary debate.
In just four hours, the pre-recorded chat racked up more than 100 million views, smashing debate host Fox News in the ratings—the network reached a comparatively paltry 12.8 million viewers.
Now at more than 255 million views, the interview handily trounced the long-standing record for the most-watched TV interview in history—Oprah Winfrey’s 1993 interview with Michael Jackson, which reached 62 million viewers.
It also eclipsed Mr. Carlson’s recent interview with political commentator Andrew Tate, which currently sits at 107 million views.
Prior to his Thursday arrest, President Trump touted the viral video’s success in a Truth Social post, calling it “The Biggest Video on Social Media, Ever.”
