Donald Trump is returning to X for a live interview

Donald Trump is making a notable comeback, at least for one night, as he is set to participate in a live interview on X, the social media platform where he was banned following the events of January 6, 2021. This marks nearly two years since his removal, and the event is scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

The interview will be a “live conversation” between Trump and Elon Musk, the current owner of X. Musk describes the event as unscripted and with no restrictions on subject matter, promising a potentially engaging and entertaining experience. To foster engagement, Musk has invited X users to submit their own questions for Trump.

This event presents a significant opportunity for Trump to directly connect with a vast audience, potentially reaching millions of voters. Additionally, it offers X a chance to demonstrate its capabilities in political engagement, especially after facing some challenges.

X has already been a pivotal platform for the 2024 political cycle. Trump opted out of the first GOP presidential debate in August, choosing instead to appear in a recorded interview with Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News Channel host, which was aired on X. President Joe Biden also used the platform last month to announce his departure from the campaign in a public letter.

In another notable instance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis used X to officially announce his presidential bid in May 2023. However, the event was marred by technical issues as over 400,000 people attempted to join the announcement, highlighting the platform’s need for better scalability.

As the conversation with Trump approaches, Musk has mentioned on X that the platform is conducting “some system scaling tests” to accommodate the anticipated high volume of participants. Musk, who previously identified as a Democrat, endorsed Trump’s candidacy shortly after the former president survived an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally.

Over time, Musk has shown a shift toward conservative viewpoints in his posts and actions on the platform. He has engaged in controversies, including a dispute with a Brazilian judge over censorship, criticized the “woke mind virus,” and amplified unfounded claims about Democrats and voter manipulation.

Musk’s ownership of X has led to the reinstatement of previously banned accounts, including conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Trump himself. Trump was originally banned from the platform, then known as Twitter, two days after the January 6 violence due to concerns over “the risk of further incitement of violence.” Musk acquired the company by November 2022, and Trump’s account was reinstated, although he did not tweet until Monday, preferring his platform, Truth Social, which he launched during his ban.

In anticipation of his interview with Musk, Trump posted a two-and-a-half-minute video on his X account. The video features footage from his presidency and includes audio of Trump delivering a familiar campaign message about the legal challenges he faces, stating, “They’re not coming after me, they’re coming after you, and I just happen to be standing in their way, and I will never be moving.”

While Trump has a following of over 7.5 million on Truth Social, his X account, largely inactive until recently, boasts 88 million followers. Musk’s account, which will host the interview, has an even larger following of more than 193 million. As of now, Trump’s campaign has not confirmed whether the interview will be cross-posted on his other accounts, including X.

Trump’s last notable post on X was a photo of his mug shot following his surrender at an Atlanta jail a year ago on charges related to conspiring to overturn his election defeat in Georgia.