Unban Trump on Twitter? Musk ponders reinstating former US president

Future of Donald Trump's account, which had more than 88 million followers, remains undecided

Elon Musk arrives at the Baron Investment Conference at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, on November 4. AP

Mr Musk in Manhattan, New York City, on November 4. Reuters

Mr Musk appears online at the B20 Summit as part of the G20 dialogue in Nusa Dua, Bali, on November 14. AFP

After months of negotiations, Mr Musk finally bought Twitter on October 27. AFP

The billionaire took control of microblogging platform and fired its top executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal, left, as well as the company's chief financial officer and its head of legal policy, trust and safety. AFP

Mr Musk entering Twitter headquarters carrying a sink through the lobby area on October 26. AP

Mr Musk and his children Damian, Kai, Saxon and Griffin met Pope Francis in July at the Vatican. AFP

Mr Musk speaks by video in June to the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. Bloomberg

Mr Musk answers questions at the Qatar Economic Forum. Bloomberg

Mr Musk arrives at the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in May. Reuters

Mr Musk and his mother Maye Musk arrive at the Met Gala in May. AFP

Mother and son pose and laugh on the Met Gala red carpet. EPA

Mr Musk waves at the Met Gala. Reuters

Mr Musk joins in online at the 'Financial Times' Future of the Car Summit in May. Financial Times

Mr Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, in March. Reuters

Mr Musk at the Tesla factory in Berlin, Germany, in March. AP

Mr Musk speaks at SpaceX's Starbase centre in South Texas in February. AFP

The entrepreneur shakes hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Porto Feliz, Brazil, in May. AP

Mr Bolsonaro and Mr Musk greet each other in Sao Paulo. Reuters

Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets Mr Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas, in May. Reuters

Mr Musk shows Mr Widodo his mobile phone during a tour of the SpaceX launch site in Texas. Reuters

Twitter owner Elon Musk on Friday said he had begun to reinstate some banned accounts on the social media platform, although former US president Donald Trump remains frozen out for now.

At the end of a difficult week for Mr Musk, he asked whether Twitter's most famous enfant terrible should be allowed back on.

"Reinstate former President Trump?" Mr Musk asked in a Twitter poll about the polarising politician who once had more than 88 million followers.

As of Friday evening, 56.5 per cent of respondents said Mr Trump, who was banned following the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol "due to the risk of further incitement of violence", should be allowed back on Twitter.

Mr Musk is at risk of losing his ranking as the world's richest person as Tesla bulls dump their stock in the electric car maker, while he struggles at the helm of Twitter, which he bought last month for $44 billion.

Mr Trump, who continues to attract a large following despite arguably costing the Republican Party election victories in 2018, 2020 and 2022, was famous for his controversial tweets.

Whether he would even choose to return to Twitter is an open question, as Mr Trump has created his own social media platform called Truth Social, where he remains active.

Meanwhile, comedienne Kathy Griffin, whom Mr Musk banned after she impersonated him, and psychologist Jordan Peterson have been allowed back on to the platform, as was conservative satirical website Babylon Bee.

Mr Musk said in late October that a council would be formed at Twitter to address content decisions and account reinstatements.

He said no decisions “will happen before that council convenes” but no details have been released, suggesting Mr Musk is making these decisions himself as Twitter staff continue to quit en masse.

“Trump decision has not yet been made,” Mr Musk tweeted on Friday.

Griffin was suspended for impersonating Mr Musk, while Dr Peterson was kicked off the platform for calling actor Elliot Page's gender transition a sin. The Babylon Bee account was suspended for posting hateful content.

This comes after another chaotic day at the social media platform, where hundreds of staff reportedly left after Mr Musk issued an ultimatum to work “hardcore” for a so-called Twitter 2.0 under his leadership.

Meanwhile, a visual artist in San Francisco projected unflattering descriptions of Mr Musk on to the company's headquarters, including “Space Karen” and “Bankruptcy Baby”.

In the US, a “Karen” is a derogatory name for a white woman who makes a scene at a shop or restaurant, demanding to “speak to the manager”.

Many Twitter users pointed out that Mr Musk is the manager and many other executives have quit or been sacked.

A look at former president Donald Trump's Truth Social feed - in pictures