Former President Donald Trump has been reinstated as a YouTube user with full permission to post new videos. The permission comes after a ban preventing new Trump content went into place shortly after January 6, 2021, when the U.S. Capitol was attacked by rioters.
Currently among the videos with the highest view counts (4.3+ million) on Trump’s channel is the video that begins with the then-President decrying “heinous attack on the United States Capitol” and saying he is “outraged by the violence.” (See below.)
Trump wasted little time returning to YouTube after his reinstatement, posting the video below saying “I’m back.”
Trump’s reinstatement on YouTube is seen as potentially less critical to his ongoing communication and reelection efforts than his recent reinstatement at Twitter may prove — should Trump begin to use that platform again.
Trump had nearly 90 million followers on Twitter when he was blocked shortly after Jan 6, 2021. New Twitter owner Elon Musk recently lifted the ban that prevented the former President from posting, but Trump has remained loyal to his own Twitter-like platform, Truth Social.
Trump’s YouTube account, with fewer than 3 million subscribers — though likely to begin growing again — was never nearly as important as Twitter in the past. Trump’s quick return — unlike his reluctance on Twitter — may augur new plans for YouTube’s prominence in his future communications strategy.
