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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Thursday that social media companies should let President Trump get back to their platforms, despite his “corrosive” election fraud claims.
Twitter cut the former president from 88 million followers after the deadly January 6 riot when a group of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as Congress certified President Biden’s victory, leaving five dead , including a US Capitol police officer. At the time, Twitter said Trump’s tweets posed “the risk of further incitement to violence.”
Facebook, Snapchat, and Reddit have also suspended Trump’s online presence indefinitely after the siege.
TWITTER SAYS TRUMP WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO THE PLATFORM EVEN IF HE USES THE PRESIDENCY
Gates, who asked him in an interview with CNBC if he would let Trump return to social media if he was on Facebook’s supervisory board, suggested he would.
“I think at some point he’ll probably be allowed to come back and probably should be allowed to come back,” the billionaire philanthropist said.
Gates suggested that if social media companies allowed Trump to come back, they could slap any false claims he makes with a warning label.
“It’s weird when you, you know, say the election was stolen without any fact. And how corrosive it is,” Gates said. “But I bet they’ll find a way to let him come back.”
TWITTER PERMANENTLY SUSPENS @REALDONALDTRUMP ACCOUNT
Democrats and a handful of Republicans have accused Trump of instigating the attack on Capitol Hill by refusing to accept the November election results and spreading unfounded conspiracy theories about voter fraud.
House Democrats, joined by 10 Republicans, impeached Trump on January 13. The Senate voted 53-47 to acquit the former president on Saturday.
“You know somehow… people’s interest in what he’s saying can drop a bit,” Gates added. “It will be interesting to watch.”
Since being banned from Twitter and other social media sites, Trump has generated far fewer headlines. He gave his first post-presidential interview on Fox News’ “Outnumbered” Wednesday, following the death of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.
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