3 months ago
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There’s a new Trump tweet, the first since the former president posted his own mugshot in 2023. The tweet was posted at 2:54 AM and, weirdly, does not appear on Trump’s timeline. It also lacks the fire or originality of his best posts. It’s just a political ad invoking Reagan.
Are you better off now than you were when I was president?
Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We're a nation in decline.
Make the American Dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT Again! #TrumpOnX
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2024
“Are you better off now than you were when I was President,” The tweet asks. “Our economy is shattered. Our border has been erased. We’re a nation in decline. Make the American Dream AFFORDABLE again. Make America SAFE again. Make America GREAT Again!”
Below this is a political video that plays scenes from the past four years over audio of Reagan’s closing arguments from the 1980 presidential debates.
It’s a weird and lifeless tweet from one of the all-time great posters. A hater from birth, Trump’s weird rants about celebrities and the news of the day were a routine feature of the website. Twitter suspended him permanently after the January 6 riots, saying he was an unsafe member of the computer.
Then Elon Musk took over Twitter, changed its name to X, and gave Trump his account back following the results of an online poll. He’s only posted twice since then. The first was his own mug shot from Georgia where Trump is facing charges of election interference. The second is this stale political ad, which again does not appear on his timeline for some reason.
Trump’s fiery and abrasive posts have long since moved to Truth Social. The unhinged rants against political enemies, weird asides about Olympic committee procedure, and obsessive photos of crowds are all there.
Truth Social isn’t doing well. Beyond Trump’s brain-poisoned posts, there are not many reasons to visit and the site’s dwindling fortunes reflect that. Trump Media, Truth Social’s parent company, reported a $16.4 million loss last week. It only made $837,000 in revenue in the same period. Trump owns 59.9 percent of Trump Media.
The anodyne and lifeless Trump tweet comes on the day Musk is set to interview the former president on X. The plan is for Trump’s X account to host the interview live. Technical issues have derailed similar events. Ron DeSantis famously announced he was running for president during an audio stream on X. It was a disaster.
“Am going to do some system scaling tests tonight & tomorrow in advance of the conversation,” Musk said on X on Sunday night.
It’s unclear what the two will talk about, but Musk has claimed it will be completely unscripted. The Tesla CEO endorsed Trump for president following a failed attempt on Trump’s life on July 13. The Wall Street Journal then reported that the tech billionaire would donate $45 million a month to Trump’s re-election, a claim Musk later denied.
“Entertainment guaranteed!” Musk said, retweeting a post advertising the event.
