Donald Trump's Social Media Platform Will 'Suck' Proud Boys Say in Message Shared by Gab
Far-right social media account TheWesternChauvinist, which is linked to the Proud Boys hate group, has said Donald Trump's planned social media network "is going to suck," and competing network Gab has shared the message.
Jason Miller, an adviser and spokesperson for Trump, told Fox News on Sunday the former Republican president would be making a social media return by creating a platform of his own.
Miller told reporter Howard Kurtz: "Everyone wants him and he's going to bring millions and millions—tens of millions—to this platform."
But the planned account has been criticized by the Proud Boys-affiliated group TheWesternChauvinist via its Telegram messaging service profile, which said Trump should instead choose to join social media network Gab which far-right supporters have embraced.
The Proud Boys are listed as an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In a Telegram post, TheWesternChauvinist said "this platform is going to suck" and listed six reasons why, including that Trump "does not understand how creating a social media platform works."
"This social media platform will not be able to get on the app or play stores because they hate Trump. Servers will be pressured to deplatform this social media platform, which means Trump will need his own servers.
"Donald Trump should be joining Gab and Telegram, but once again Kushner advised him against it."
The message was subsequently shared by Gab, which many Trump supporters and right-wing groups have flocked to following a crackdown on Trump by more conventional sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Gab sells itself as "a social network that champions free speech."
Gab's official statement on Trump's social media network, posted separately on Sunday by its CEO Andrew Torba, reads: "Best wishes and God bless."
Trump has been permanently banned from Twitter, which he had used extensively throughout his presidency as a way of communicating with fans and critics alike. He was removed from the platform in January following the deadly Capitol riots which Twitter accused him of inciting.
Other social media networks such as Snapchat followed suit, while Facebook is still weighing whether or not to permanently ban Trump via its oversight board following his suspension.
In January, CNN reported that Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner had blocked attempts by other aides to get the former president on Gab. Deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino also pushed back against the efforts.
Torba corroborated the claims in a February 7 post on Gab, in which he said: "We will go on the record stating that we know 100% for a fact that Jared Kushner is actively trying to keep Trump off Gab and has been for weeks."
Trump's return to social media with his own network is expected within two or three months, Miller told CNN.
