Trump Can Win 2024 Elections Despite Facebook, Twitter Ban: Expert

Former US president Donald Trump has been looking for ways to reclaim his internet megaphone, launching several lawsuits against the dominant social media giants, who have banned him from their platforms AFP / Andy JACOBSOHN

KEY POINTS

An expert says Trump only needs right-wing media to persuade voters
He believes Trump may use social media suspension as a major talking point in his campaign
Trump used Twitter and Facebook as his direct line to people during his presidency

Former President Donald Trump could still win the 2024 presidential elections despite having no access to his Facebook and Twitter accounts, according to an expert.

Steve Schmidt, a GOP strategist and cofounder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, said he believes the former president would only need right-wing media ecosystems to persuade people to vote for him in 2024.

"Trump doesn't have to tweet something or post something on Facebook to effectively use both platforms as the conveyance belt to frame the discussion and the narrative about whatever stupidity of the moment has come out of his mouth," Schmidt told the Business Insider.

"The right-wing media ecosystem is vast and sophisticated, and anyone who thinks it's top-down in that it's initiated with a Trump tweet and then propagates and spreads from that position just doesn't understand how information moves.”

If anything, Trump may use the suspensions as major talking points during his campaign, Schmidt added.

Trump used both Twitter and Facebook as his direct line to supporters throughout his tenure at the White House. However, he was permanently barred from accessing his Twitter account days after a mob of pro-Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress convened to certify the 2020 election results.

Facebook has banned Trump from its platform until at least January 2023. He can be reinstated should an evaluation find no evidence of “serious risk to public safety.”

"If we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded," Facebook said in a June news release.

Despite the ban, Facebook would still allow pro-Trump groups to run ads promoting him on their platform, noting that the suspension only covers the person and not the movement.

Schmidt’s remarks come as a new Grinnel College National Poll released Wednesday found that President Joe Biden and Trump are tied in a potential head-to-head match-up in 2024. Both candidates earned the support of 40% of likely voters surveyed while 14% said they would likely vote for someone else.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 13 to 17 and included 735 likely voters.