Donald Trump returns to Twitter platform X: what was his first post back - why was he banned?

It was a busy day for former US president Donald J Trump - not only was he arrested for his alleged involvement in election interference in Georgia, but he also made a return to Twitter platform X.

Trump handed himself in to Fulton County Jail on Thursday 24 August, with his now-historic mugshot going viral online as a result. However, it was his return to Elon Musk's social media site after more than two and a half years.

The former president, who currently faces 91 charges across four separate criminal trial, was infamous for his Twitter posts during his presidency. Buhe was banned by the platform shortly after the January 6 Capitol insurrection.

Here's everything you need to know about his return to the site.

What was Donald Trump's first post back on X?

Posted shortly after his arrest and the subsequent release of his mugshot, Trump - who is currently also campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination - made a comeback to the timeline with a campaign post.

The caption simply linked to his presidential campaign site donaldjtrump.com. The accompanying picture saw Trump using his mugshot from Fulton County Jail as promotional material.

In text in the image read: "MUG SHOT AUGUST 24, 2023. ELECTION INTERFERENCE. NEVER SURRENDER! DONALDJTRUMP.COM"

Trump, who is currently leading national polls to become the Republican nominee despite his legal woes, has frequently called the charges levelled against him a "witch hunt". The post has garnered more than 280,000 reposts, 83,000 quotes and 1.2 million likes since being posted.

X owner Elon Musk responded to a post which said "It's kind of stupid how good he is at branding", saying: "True".

Why was Donald Trump banned from Twitter?

Trump was originally permanently banned from what was then Twitter on 8 January 2021, two days after the insurrection riots in Washington D.C which saw Trump supporters violently breach the US Capitol building making claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

The company said: "After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

It continued: "On January 8, 2021, President Donald J. Trump Tweeted: “The 75,000,000 great American Patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”

"Shortly thereafter, the President Tweeted: “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the Inauguration on January 20th.”

"Due to the ongoing tensions in the United States, and an uptick in the global conversation in regards to the people who violently stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, these two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks."

His permanent suspension was overturned on 19 November 2022, only a few weeks after Musk acquired the social media giant. At the time Musk, who unlocked the former president's account after conducting a poll of 15 million followers on the site, said: "The people have spoken."

However, Trump did not make an immediate return to the platform, telling journalists at the time: "I don't see any reason for it". In his time off the site, he frequently used his own social media platform Truth Social to stay in touch with followers and supporters.