This weekend, newly-minted Twitter proprietor Elon Musk ran an unscientific poll asking his followers on the platform whether Donald Trump should be reinstated. The former president, as it turns out, eked out a close victory, but nevertheless demurred and announced that he was staying put on Truth Social.

At least for now. Those close to Trump tell me they suspect he’ll be back on Twitter by the new year. The urge is real, if not primal, and the platform is an obvious necessity for a candidate who needs to get as much exposure as possible, especially following a low-energy entry back into the field amid a cable news environment that will be reluctant to cover his every outrageous comment and rally. In fact, I presume that the ease with which he’s been welcomed back, via Twitter poll plebiscite, delights his team. 

In reality, Truth Social was never a competitor so much as a rebound. When Truth was being developed, I’m told, there were conversations about exemptions to Trump’s eight-hour exclusivity window with Truth if he were to become a candidate. And it’s something his team is currently exploring. After all, Trump has 86.4 million followers on Twitter and 4.5 million on Truth Social.