Former President Donald J. Trump returned to X, the social media platform previously often called Twitter, on Thursday night time after a hiatus of greater than two years.

Mr. Trump posted a hyperlink to his web site and a photograph of his mug shot in his first new submit on X since Twitter banned his account after the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. “Never surrender!” the caption beneath the mug shot learn.

Mr. Trump returned to X sooner or later after the airing of an interview he gave to Tucker Carlson, the previous Fox News host, who now streams his speak exhibits on the service. The interview aired as different Republican candidates for president took half of their first debate on Wednesday night time.

When Twitter barred Mr. Trump, the corporate stated he had glorified violence together with his posts on the platform, encouraging his supporters to storm the Capitol. But Elon Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist” who bought the social community for $44 billion in October and not too long ago renamed it, stated barring Mr. Trump had been a mistake. He reinstated Mr. Trump’s account in November, though it had sat dormant since then.

Mr. Trump relied on Twitter as a megaphone for years, utilizing the platform to assault opponents, rally supporters and concern coverage directives. After the ban, he helped begin his personal social community, Truth Social.

Mr. Trump has a monetary stake in Truth Social and is obligated to make his posts obtainable completely on the service for six hours earlier than sharing them on different websites, in response to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He can submit to any web site instantly if the messages contain political messaging, fund-raising or get-out-the-vote initiatives. Mr. Trump has a big Twitter following — 86.5 million individuals, in contrast with solely 6.5 million who observe his Truth Social account.

After Mr. Musk bought the corporate, Mr. Trump stated he wouldn’t return to Twitter, including that he most popular Truth Social. He additionally mocked Mr. Musk final yr when the Tesla chief govt threatened to again out of the Twitter acquisition, saying in a Truth Social post that Mr. Musk was overpaying for the platform and had begged him for assistance on “his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere.”