Meta restores Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts

CNN

By Donie O’Sullivan, CNN

Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were restored on Thursday, allowing the former president to once again post on the social media platforms, a Meta spokesperson confirmed to CNN.

As of Thursday afternoon, Trump had not yet resumed posting on the accounts.

Trump’s reinstatement comes weeks after Facebook’s landmark announcement that it would restore the former president’s access following a two-year ban in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

Meta previously said it would take a few weeks before Trump could access his account. The company suggested the delay was to give the company time to install guardrails on Trump’s account that could result in it being suspended again if he breaks the company’s rules.

With his Facebook and Instagram accounts reactivated, Trump will once again gain access to huge and powerful communications and fundraising platforms just as he ramps up his third bid for the White House.

Twitter restored Trump’s account in November. He has not posted on the platform since.

A current Trump adviser said the former president has never used Facebook in the way he used Twitter, which became his primary medium for communicating with his political base as president before he was removed from the platform in the wake of the January 6 attack. Still, this person said, the Trump campaign would leap at the opportunity to resume using his likeness in its Facebook advertisements.

“It is the most important vehicle for fundraising and for reaching a lot of people in the persuadable audience,” the adviser said.

— CNN’s Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.

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