(Trends Wide) — Meta restored Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts Thursday, allowing the former president to once again post to social media platforms, a company spokesperson confirmed to Trends Wide.
As of Thursday afternoon, Trump had yet to resume posting to the accounts.
Trump’s reinstatement comes weeks after Facebook’s historic announcement that it would restore the former president’s access after a two-year ban in the wake of the January 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 him being suspended again if he breaks company rules.
With his Facebook and Instagram accounts reactivated, Trump will again have access to huge and powerful communication and fundraising platforms in the midst of his bid for a third run for the White House.
Twitter restored Trump’s account in November. The former president has not published on the platform since then.
A current Trump adviser said the former president never used Facebook the same way he used Twitter, which became his primary means of communicating with his political base as president before he was removed from the platform after the Jan. 6 attack. . Still, this person said, the Trump campaign would jump at the opportunity to resume the use of his likeness in his Facebook ads.
“It’s the most important vehicle for fundraising and for reaching a lot of people in the persuasive audience,” the adviser said.
– Trends Wide’s Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.