Former President Donald Trump took to social media on Saturday to extend his congratulations to President Joe Biden for joining Truth Social, a platform initiated by Trump himself. Despite this gesture, Trump couldn’t resist taking a swipe at Biden’s leadership abilities.
With the 2024 presidential election looming, political observers anticipate a rematch between Biden and Trump. Trump consistently leads the pack of Republican candidates in various polls. As part of his re-election strategy, Biden’s campaign has ventured into traditionally conservative media spaces, including purchasing ads on Fox News’ website and during specific broadcasts.
One unexpected move was Biden’s campaign setting up an account on Truth Social, a platform Trump founded after being banned from Twitter following the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Since its inception, Truth Social has attracted a predominantly conservative and pro-Trump user base, with the former president using it to share his thoughts, akin to his active presence on Twitter.
In a post on Saturday morning, Trump praised Biden’s decision to join Truth Social, albeit with a backhanded compliment. “We are heading to World War III because of grossly incompetent leadership, headed by a President that doesn’t have a clue, although he did have the sense to just join TRUTH, the real VOICE OF AMERICA,” Trump remarked. “Congratulations Joe, at least, on that!”
Interestingly, a few days after the account’s creation, Biden’s campaign account, named “Biden-Harris HQ,” had garnered more followers on Truth Social than Trump’s 2024 campaign account, “Team Trump.” As of Saturday morning, Biden-Harris HQ boasted 34,800 followers, while Team Trump had 28,900.
Parker Butler, director of digital rapid response for Biden-Harris HQ, explained the campaign’s decision to join the anti-Biden social network humorously, stating, “We just joined Truth Social, mostly because we thought it would be very funny.” This tongue-in-cheek approach aligns with the Biden campaign’s broader strategy of trolling Trump and the Republican Party by venturing into conservative media spaces, as exemplified by their ads on Fox News channels earlier this year.
