Truth Social significant person Donald Trump
Inception
According to Reuters, two members of the cast of Trump's TV show The Apprentice, Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, were "central" to the founding of Truth Social's parent company, the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), having allegedly pitched the idea of a social network to Trump in January 2021.Notable activity
Donald Trump
Although Donald Trump's participation in TMTG and the scale of his social media following was a major part of TMTG's marketing for Truth Social, Trump was initially not a frequent user of the Truth Social platform. He made the platform's first post on February 16, 2022, with the message "Get ready! Your favorite president will see you soon". His next post was made on April 28, posting "I'M BACK! #COVFEFE", a reference to the covfefe meme. Trump then started posting more frequently.Following the announcement of Elon Musk's proposed takeover of Twitter, Trump publicly stated that he does not intend to return to Twitter and intends to remain on Truth Social. On May 6, in a court filing responding to the New York attorney general's demand for his cell phones, Trump said Truth Social had recently given him a phone that he only uses to post on Truth Social.According to reports, Trump has a licensing agreement with TMTG requiring him to use Truth Social as his primary social media platform and to wait at least six hours before reposting material to any other social media platform, with some exceptions for political activities.In early August 2022, Truth Social experienced a significant uptick in downloads following the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.Following the publication of a heavily-redacted affidavit regarding the search, Trump reacted angrily to the contents of the document in a series of Truth Social posts, saying "Affidavit heavily redacted!!! [...] Nothing mentioned on 'Nuclear,' a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover - WE GAVE THEM MUCH." The commentator Barbara McQuade observed that Trump's Truth Social posts on the matter might potentially undermine Trump's defense against charges arising from the search.Trump followed this days later with a sequence of sixty Truth Social posts. Multiple news sources noted that these posts represented a marked increase in the intensity of his rhetoric, explicitly referencing QAnon and 4chan conspiracy theories.In October 2022, Trump posted a comment criticizing American Jews, telling them to "get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel" before it's "too late". Three organizations, including the anti-Trump and left-leaning Anti-Defamation League and the left-wing Jewish Democratic Council of America, criticized Trump's comment as condescending and as repeating a "dual loyalty" antisemitic trope. Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Managing Director at the pro-Trump Coalition for Jewish Values, on the contrary, stated that he considered Trump's comment reasonable and not antisemitic.In November 2022, Trump released a post claiming without evidence that he had "sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys" in 2018 to assist in the Florida gubernatorial election of Ron DeSantis.
On 4 December 2022, Trump used his Truth Social account to say alleged election fraud allows for the "termination" of election rules found in the Constitution of the United States, stating: So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great “Founders” did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!
Trump's remarks were condemned by multiple parties, including the White House. In The Week, Damon Linker described it as the moment Trump "finally jumped the shark". Subsequently, Trump denied he called for the termination of the Constitution but maintained that any election misconduct should be undone. Afterward, Trump posted a link to an article claiming that by "allows for," Trump meant that those engaging in voter fraud were effectively terminating the Constitution, not that Trump was calling for the Constitution's termination.