In the hours leading up to the conversation in X Space, this appeared to be the case: Trump posted 10 times on X, his first on the platform since August 2023 and his first sustained period of activity since he was infamously banned from the platform for spreading election conspiracy theories ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
But Trump remained online for hours after the event, returning to TruthSocial, the platform he built after being booted from X. He shared more than a dozen updates (called “truths”) urging his followers to get out and vote for candidates he supports in the Minnesota and Wisconsin primaries.
At about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday, a few hours after the event ended, Trump finally posted a link to the recording of his conversation with Musk on Truth Social. However, rather than linking directly to the recording on X, Trump posted a link to the recording of the event from his own YouTube channel. Trump then posted another link to the conversation, this time to the recording on the video-sharing site Rumble.
Trump’s X has far more followers – 90 million compared to TruthSocial’s 7.5 million – but there are other things to consider.
Trump owns a 60% stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, and as part of his contract with the company, he is required to post all content on Truth Social before posting it on other platforms, except for campaign or political content.
TMTG shares also fell on Monday after Trump began posting on X. This may also be something Trump needs to consider, given that he must wait until the end of the six-month lockout period on September 19 before he can sell his shares in the company.
Musk knows that keeping Trump happy and on his platform could be key to reinvigorating X. But at the end of the day, Musk is still only thinking about himself. In a conversation on Monday, shortly after agreeing with Trump’s views on electric cars and U.S. oil drilling that seemed in direct conflict with Musk’s own business interests, Musk offered to play a role in a “government efficiency agency” if there was a second Trump administration.
“I’d be happy to do that,” Trump replied.
