Donald Trump’s Truth Social App is Ready for Launch This Week
Truth Social, Donald Trump’s new social media platform, is set to launch gradually this week and should be “fully operational” by late March, potentially raising the former president’s profile more than a year after he was banned from major social media platforms.
“We will begin to roll out to people on the Apple App store this week,” said Devin Nunes, CEO of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), which owns the new app. The former Republican congressman was speaking on conservative Fox News on Sunday.
“I believe we’ll be fully operational – at least within the United States – by the end of March,” added Nunes, who resigned from the US House to lead the Trump group.
Trump has described Truth Social as an alternative to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, all of which banned him after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
The former president is accused of inciting his supporters to use force in an attempt to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.
On Sunday, the App Store announced that visitors could pre-order Truth Social beginning Monday, Presidents Day in the United States.
“It’s actually very moving for me to see people on the platform whose voices have been canceled,” Nunes said.
‘The Truth is coming’
“We want (customers) to tell us what they want to see on the platform, which is the polar opposite of some Silicon Valley tech oligarch freak telling people what they want to think and deciding who can and cannot be on the platform,” he explained.
Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, also plan to sell 10,000 NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, depicting key moments in Trump’s presidency on Monday. NFTs are digital images that have been certified and can be bought and sold.
“Truth is coming…” tweeted Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House, on Friday, referring to the ominous catchphrase of the HBO series “Game of Thrones” (“Winter is coming”).
She posted a screenshot of her message on Truth Beta, the new site’s test version, with the caption, “I’m so excited to be on Truth!”
And Donald Trump Jr. congratulated his father on Twitter, writing, “Time for some Truth!!!” and including what he claimed was his father’s first post on Truth Social: “Get Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon!”
TMTG did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
The group reportedly has a $1.25 billion fortune as it seeks a niche in a crowded conservative social-media market, including the Gettr, Parler, and Gab platforms.
Trump had 89 million followers on Twitter before being banned, and he used the platform frequently, both for presidential statements and to attack opponents.
Trump, 75, has hinted but never stated definitively whether he will run for president again.
He is currently the subject of multiple investigations and lawsuits, including those relating to his tax returns and his efforts to maintain power after losing the 2020 election.
