Trump’s Twitter ban: 71% of Independent readers think it should remain permanent

‘He should be on Twitter for sure, provided he’s also shipped to a neighbouring galaxy’

Donald Trump (AP)

Seven out of 10 Independent readers think Donald Trump’s permanent Twitter ban should remain permanent.

However, three in 10 believe the former US president’s account should be re-activated, citing reasons including free speech and finding him entertaining.

Readers were asked to vote in a poll after Elon Musk, who is in the process of buying the social media site for $44bn (£36bn), said he wanted to give Mr Trump his blue-ticked account back.

Of the portion of people who thought Mr Trump’s ban should be lifted, 88 per cent said it was because they believed in free speech, while 12 per cent said they found him entertaining.

One commenter called MoralAuthority wrote: “Yes..he should be allowed on Twitter. Grifters/scamartists/conmen/etc have been around since written word (and probably even before written word). ‘Banning’ someone from access to public space is not justified.”

Another, going by the name CheapSeater, added: “He should be on Twitter for sure, provided he’s also shipped to a neighbouring galaxy.”

Mr Musk’s takeover of the social media site has recently stalled amid his concerns about the number of spam or bot accounts. However, Twitter said on Thursday it is still ‘committed’ to completing the deal.

Earlier this month, the Tesla billionaire said the decision to block Mr Trump in January 2021 was “morally bad” and “a mistake”.

“I think it was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme,” he said at a Future of the Car event hosted in London by the Financial Times.

He added: “I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake – it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”

He said the decision to ban Mr Trump from Twitter, taken after the 6 January riot at the US Capitol, did not silence the former president’s voice entirely. Rather it amplified his views among people on the political right, Mr Musk said.

The Independent’s poll - Should Donald Trump be allowed back on Twitter? ran for nine days and had 292 entries. People could choose one of four options and vote once. Seventy-four people chose “Yes - free speech should be allowed on Twitter”, 10 said: “Yes - I find him entertaining”, 207 voters picked “No - his Twitter ban should remain permanent” and one person chose the “don’t know” option.