For the first time in more than two years, former President Donald Trump returned to Instagram.
In the first post he made to the social media platform since back on January 5 of 2021, Trump uploaded an image of himself looking like he was holding the Liberty Bell. A second photo he uploaded was one that showed him dressed as a superhero.
Along with the two photos, he posted the message:
“I am pleased to inform you that, due to the great success of my previously launched DIGITAL TRADING CARDS, we are doing it again, SERIES 2, AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW.”
He also wrote that he was “leaving the price of the Trading Cards the same as last time, even though they are selling for MANY TIMES MORE.”
The last post on his account was made on January 5, 2021, inviting all of his followers to “join President Donald J. Trump at the Save America March,” which is now the infamous speech he gave at The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021.
In late January, Meta – the parent company of both Facebook and Instagram – announced that Trump would be reinstated to its platforms after a ban of two years. In making the announcement, Nick Clegg, who serves as Meta’s president of global affairs, said that “in the coming weeks,” Trump would be allowed back on the social media sites, though there would be new guardrails in place “to deter repeat offenses.”
Clegg added that the “serious risk to public safety” that initially led Meta to suspend Trump from their platforms in January of 2021 “has sufficiently receded.” In a blog post, Clegg wrote:
“The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying – the good, the bad and the ugly – so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box. But, that does not mean there are no limits to what people can say on our platform.”
Clegg was referencing the fact that even though Trump is allowed back on their platforms, he’d face “heightened penalties” if he were to break their rules. That would include some of his posts being removed or him even facing a new suspension of two years or more.
Until this week, Trump had remained off the two social media platforms. Many people figured he would eventually return, even as he has committed himself to a new social media platform that he started himself, Truth Social.
The former president decided to use his first post on Instagram not for political purposes but to try to sell his digital trading cards. The campaign teased a “major announcement” back in December, which ended up being the release of Trump’s collection of digital trading cards.
Those cards sold out in just one day when they were initially released for $99 each. They were described as having “amazing ART of my Life & Career!”
Now, Trump has released new digital trading cards being called Series 2 NFTs – or non-fungible tokens – and they’re selling for the same amount.
