'Your favorite president will see you soon,' Trump writes in first 'truth' on TRUTH Social beta
Pontius Pilate once asked, "What is truth?" Jesus of Nazareth didn't respond, but if former President Donald Trump had been in Jerusalem that day, he might have had an answer ready.
Trump's new social network, TRUTH Social, is almost exactly like Twitter but with red verification checkmarks, "truths" instead of "tweets," and — most importantly — Trump himself.
Trump posted his first "truth" on Tuesday night, writing "Get Ready! Your favorite president will see you soon!" The New York Post reported.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., shared a cropped screenshot of the "truth" on Twitter. Right-wing journalist Liz Willis shared a less-cropped version, which revealed that Trump currently has 175 followers on the platform and follows no one. His "truth" had 48 likes, 27 "re-truths" (if that's the correct term), and seven replies.
The app, which also looks like Twitter, is still in an invitation-only beta. The full version is set to go live Monday, according to its Apple App Store page, but Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes told Newsmax earlier this month that the app won't launch until the end of March.
According to MSNBC, TRUTH Social also "missed its self-imposed November deadline" to release the beta.
One explanation for the delays could be a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the merger of TRUTH parent company Trump Media and the special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Social networks de-platformed Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, accusing him of spreading misinformation and inciting violence. Since then, after a failed attempt at running his own blog, Trump has held out for TRUTH Social, communicating via emailed statements and declining to create accounts on alternative right-wing platforms like Parler and Gettr.
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
A real head scratcher: how scabies returned to the UKThe Explainer The ‘Victorian-era’ condition is on the rise in the UK, and experts aren’t sure why
-
Ukraine, US and Russia: do rare trilateral talks mean peace is possible?Rush to meet signals potential agreement but scepticism of Russian motives remain
-
Syria’s Islamic State problemIn The Spotlight Fragile security in prison camps leads to escape of IS fighters
-
ICE memo OKs forcible entry without warrantSpeed Read The secret memo was signed last May
-
Halligan quits US attorney role amid court pressureSpeed Read Halligan’s position had already been considered vacant by at least one judge
-
Can anyone stop Donald Trump?Today's Big Question US president ‘no longer cares what anybody thinks’ so how to counter his global strongman stance?
-
How Iran protest death tolls have been politicisedIn the Spotlight Regime blames killing of ‘several thousand’ people on foreign actors and uses videos of bodies as ‘psychological warfare’ to scare protesters
-
Trump’s Greenland ambitions push NATO to the edgeTalking Points The military alliance is facing its worst-ever crisis
-
Venezuela: Does Trump have a plan?Feature Oil and democracy are both on the table
-
Trump ties Greenland threat to failed Nobel Peace bidSpeed Read ‘I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,’ Trump said
-
The Board of Peace: Donald Trump’s ‘alternative to the UN’The Explainer Body set up to oversee reconstruction of Gaza could have broader mandate to mediate other conflicts and create a ‘US-dominated alternative to the UN’
