"I'm back."
Trump reappears on YouTube and Facebook after two years of ban
Former US President Donald Trump appeared on both YouTube and Facebook on Friday in a return to social media platforms, for the first time since his accounts were suspended two years ago following the January 2021, <> attack on the Capitol by his supporters.
The former Republican leader, who is seeking a second term in 2024, broadcast on his Facebook page and YouTube channel a video titled "I'm back" taken from CNN, which included announcing that he won the 2016 election against Hillary Clinton. The clip ends with the words "Trump 2024."
"Sorry to make you wait — complicated work," Trump said in the clip.
His words were met with thousands of comments, including "happy to see you again" and "Your return is a source of satisfaction, Mr. President".
Trump has 34 million followers on Facebook and more than 2.6 million on YouTube.
Earlier Friday, YouTube announced it would end the suspension of his account. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, released a similar announcement in late January.
YouTube wrote on Twitter: "As of today, Donald G. Trump is restrained."
Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, also reinstated the former president's account on the popular social media platform in November, but Trump has yet to tweet about it.
The 76-year-old Republican was removed from mainstream social media in January 2021 while still in office, for encouraging supporters during the attack on Congress in Washington.
On January 6 of that year, thousands of his supporters were convinced that the 2020 election was marred by fraud, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and attacked the Capitol in an attempt to prevent confirmation of Joe Biden's election as president.
The NGO Media Matters for America has sharply criticized Meta's decision to allow the former president to use the vast connectivity capabilities offered by tech giants.
"Meta's decision is a green light for Trump to promote toxic content on its platforms and shows that the company continues to prioritize profit — and appease far-right figures — rather than public safety," it said in a statement.
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