Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram pages are restored after ban
Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts have been restored after he was banned in the wake of the deadly Capitol riot two years ago.
Users of the social media sites can again see the former US president’s pages, with the last post on his Facebook made on 6 January 2021, when he wrote: “I am asking for everyone at the US Capitol to remain peaceful.”
On that day, an insurrection erupted in Washington DC during which hundreds of his supporters stormed the US legislature.
Mr Trump was suspended from the platforms on 7 January 2021 following the riot.
Donald Trump’s Facebook page has been restored. Pic: Donald Trump/Facebook
The then-president was also banned from Twitter.
Mr Trump has been using his own, much smaller site, Truth Social, since his ban.
The latest development comes after Meta announced it would reinstate the 76-year-old’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following a two-year suspension.
The tech firm said in a blog post in January that it would be adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules.
“In the event that Mr Trump posts further violating content, the content will be removed and he will be suspended for between one month and two years, depending on the severity of the violation,” said Meta, which is based in Menlo Park, California.
Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said Mr Trump was free to use Facebook and Instagram again “if he wishes to”, adding that the “guardrails” were in place to “ensure he plays by the rules”.
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Trump will be banned again ‘if necessary’
Mr Clegg, the former deputy British prime minister, added: “We’re trying to strike a balance between keeping people safe on our platform, making sure that our services are not used to threaten real would harm, but at the same time we think the American people should hear from those who want to lead them, and we don’t want to stand in the way of that.”
Responding to Meta’s decision in January, the former US president wrote on Truth Social: “FACEBOOK, which has lost billions of dollars in value since ‘deplatforming’ your favourite president, me, has just announced that they are reinstating my account.
“Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting president, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!”
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Mr Trump’s Twitter account was restored in November last year after Elon Musk’s $44bn (£38bn) takeover of the site.
Mr Musk called the ban on Mr Trump’s account a “mistake” and “morally wrong”.
Donald Trump’s Twitter account was restored in November. Pic: Donald Trump/Twitter
The Tesla founder launched a poll on the site, accompanied by the words “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” – a Latin phrase meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God” – which asked users to vote on whether Mr Trump should be allowed to return.
After more than 15 million votes, the result was that he should and his account was reinstated.
However, Mr Trump, who has more than 80 million followers, has not yet used the account and has previously said: “I don’t see any reason for it (returning).”
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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