Relying on popular sovereignty, Elon Musk decided to readmit Donald Trump on Twitter after the 24-hour lightning referendum among users, with over 15 million votes, of which 52% in favor and 48% against.
"The people have spoken. Trump will be readmitted", Musk tweeted, quoting the sentence of ancient medieval tradition "Vox Populi, Vox Dei", to mean that popular, or commonly accepted, opinions and judgments must or can be considered true and right .
A sort of social populism, where the opinion of the masses decides, not a qualified independent body or an ad hoc staff as it was in the pre-Musk era.
Last May, before buying Twitter, Musk had already announced that he would bring back the tycoon, who had been banned from the social network after instigating the
assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021: a story for which he is still in the crosshairs of the investigations of a parliamentary commission and now also of a newly appointed special prosecutor.
The decision to kick him off the platform was described by Musk as "morally wrong and absolutely stupid".
The new owner of Twitter in recent days had already made the decision - with non-transparent criteria - to rehabilitate some accounts that had been suspended, such as those of Kathie Griffin, Jorden Peterson and Babylon Bee, but for the former president he preferred not to take a direct responsibility and relied on the people of Twitter with one of his gimmicks.
The survey effectively turned the spotlight on the platform, distracting from the chaos that Musk has caused, including layoffs and mass exoduses.
But Trump froze him,
excluding for now a return to twittering shortly before the end of the online referendum, despite his account being officially visible again.
"Vote positively but don't worry, I won't go anywhere," she wrote on her social Truth about her calling him "special."
And in a video link to the Republican Jewish Coalition assembly, while lauding Musk, she said Truth "works better" while Twitter "has a lot of problems," "a lot of bots and fake accounts."
It remains to be seen whether in the future the tycoon will really give up the megaphone with which he shaped his presidency.