Donald Trump returns to X, the site formerly known as Twitter, shortly after surrendering in Georgia

Former President Donald Trump has returned to X the social media site formerly known as Twitter firing off his first message in 2 12 years shortly after he surrendered at an Atlanta jail on charges he conspired to overturn his election lossHe posted a photo of his mug shot and the words Election interference Never surrender along with a link to his website which directs to a fundraising siteIt was Trumps first post since Jan 8 2021 when Twitter suspended his account indefinitely citing fears he would incite additional violence following the deadly storming of the US Capitol buildingHis account was reinstated last November shortly after Elon Musk took over the company but Trump had refrained from tweeting insisting that he was happier on his own Truth Social site which he launched during the banThe message marks a homecoming of sorts for Trump to one of his most important megaphones one he used to dominate his rivals in the 2016 primary and to command the news cycle for years Trump who is running again for the White House in 2024 often marveled at how quickly his missives would travel from his account to cable news stations under the banner BREAKING NEWSThe return to X and the inclusion of a link to a fundraising page is also a reflection of just how much money Trumps campaign has been burning on lawyers representing the candidate and allies as he battles criminal charges in four jurisdictions Trumps political operation entered the second half of the year in a strained financial position with its bank account drained by tens of millions of dollars that were directed toward defending the former president from mounting legal challenges as he seeks the White House againThe new post also came a day after Trump skipped the first Republican primary debate choosing to instead tape an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that aired as counterprogrammingTrump has 865 million followers on what is now known as X dwarfing his rivals in the 2024 raceBut the platform has undergone significant changes since Trump left it including Musk changing its nameTrump returned to Facebook in March posting IM BACK weeks after his personal account there was reactivatedBut he has stuck with Truth Social the Twitter lookalike he launched after he was suspended from Twitter and Facebook to post a daily stream of missives announcements and reposts That has included using the platform to break news of his indictments and planned surrenders as he has faced a mounting list of legal woesAs part of his deal with Digital World Acquisition Corp to take Truth Social public Trump had agreed so he wouldnt compete against his own company that it would be the first channel for iquestany and all social media communications and posts coming from his personal profile according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange CommissionThat included an exclusivity clause in which the former president was generally obligated to make any social media post on Truth Social and may not make the same post on another social media site for 6 hours for a period of 18 months beginning Dec 22 2021 That period ended in JuneThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever