US Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, speaks during a news conference following a vote in the US House of Representatives to end US military involvement in the war in Yemen on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC April 4, 2019.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Though Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter again raises questions about whether former President Donald Trump would be reinstated on the platform, a Democratic lawmaker said Tuesday the company will likely have to do so if he runs for another term, regardless of its new owner.
“If he’s the Republican nominee or if he’s a major candidate, I think, regardless of whether it’s Elon Musk, I think probably anyone on Twitter would have a hard time saying that person is denied access to the platform should be,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Andrew Ross Sorkin said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
But Trump said Monday he would not return to Twitter even if Musk reversed the platform’s ban against the former president.
“I was disappointed with the way I was treated by Twitter. I’m not going back to Twitter,” the former president told CNBC’s Joe Kernen. Trump said he will instead be on Truth Social, which has been billed as a free speech alternative to big tech platforms and is part of the Trump Media & Technology Group.
Khanna said it was “appropriate” for Twitter to temporarily suspend Trump for inciting violence after the Jan. 6 riot in the US Capitol. However, he questioned the idea that Twitter would be able to maintain its permanent ban on Trump’s account.
“I just don’t think you can keep a Republican frontrunner off a platform unless there’s repeated bad action again,” Khanna said.
Khanna added that Twitter needs a plan to deal with further violations by Trump once he is allowed back into service.
“The question is, if he’s in the race in ’24 and allowed to get back in, what does the safety and guardrail say, if you incite violence again, you’re going to get out,” Khanna said. “But I feel like the decision would be made regardless of whether it was Elon Musk.”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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