Left-wing writer frets Trump Twitter return ‘might just be his path to victory’ in 2024

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Left-wing writer Jill Filipovic fretted this week over the possibility that former President Donald Trump returning to Twitter following Elon Musk's takeover of the social media giant could lead to him winning the presidency in 2024. 

In an op-ed Tuesday, the liberal columnist sought to warn "progressives and liberal commentators" against assuming Trump returning to Twitter would hurt his chances at winning another election, and that President Biden's failure to implement his "promised agenda" could also propel Trump forward.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in Manhattan on May 18, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images) ____ WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 23: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the economy during an event at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Office Building on November 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. 

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"Elon Musk just threw a wrench in the next US presidential election -- to the benefit of Donald Trump," Filipovic wrote on CNN. "With the man thought to be the world's richest buying Twitter, the platform is likely in for some big shifts. Among them: changes to the terms of service that would allow currently banned users to return. That could include the former President."

Trump was suspended from Twitter following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol over concerns that further tweets might incite violence.

Filipovic noted there was speculation Trump might return to the platform under Musk's ownership, despite the former president previously stating multiple times he wouldn't choose to begin tweeting again if given the option. 

Trump started his own social media platform, Truth Social, last month and posted on it for the first time on Thursday, marking the first time he's posted on social media in more than a year.

"Trump's return to Twitter, some commentators argue, would be a gift to Democrats," Filipovic wrote, citing the argument that his tweets would remind voters he was "unhinged," "deranged," and "dangerous," which would translate into wins for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections, and increase the chances of him losing the 2024 election should he decide to run.

"I'm not so sure," she declared.

Elon Musk Awarded With Axel Springer Award In Berlin (Photo by Britta Pedersen-Pool/Getty Images)

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Filipovic recounted her perspective of Trump's shocking win in the 2016 presidential election, his ability to own news cycles with his "antics," and the normalization of his actions.

"Much of this was made possible by Twitter," she claimed. "Every time Trump tweeted, he had the attention of every political journalist in the country. For him, that was an unmitigated benefit."

"In 2024, though, Trump will be running after four years of boring competence (and frankly, after four years in which Democratic incumbent Joe Biden likely will have failed to implement a promised agenda)," Filipovic wrote. "With some distance, plus a rough economy and rising consumer prices, the Trump threat might not feel so acute, and a steady Democratic hand might not look so appealing."

"Already, progressives and liberal commentators and politicians are falling back on the same assumptions that handed Trump a win in 2016: that his outlandish tweets hurt him," she added.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Wednesday, July 7, 2021.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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She said Trump was not trying to win over liberal Democrats, the group she argued his "outlandish tweets" hurt him most with, but that he was garnering the attention of normal people who follow politics "as if elections were sporting events, or reality TV shows."

"For people who take politics seriously, this kind of inanity is hard to comprehend. For Trump, it's the playbook," Filipovic wrote.

"And it might just be his path to victory," she concluded.

Trump has not yet said if he will run for president in 2024; however, in an interview with SiriusXM's Americano Media, he predicted people would be "very happy" when he announces his intentions following the midterms.