Trump says he will not return to Twitter as Elon Musk buys it

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will not return to Twitter even if Tesla CEO Elon Musk's bid to buy the social media website is successful.

"I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth," Trump told Fox News, referring to the social media company Trump founded after being banned from successive websites over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. "I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth."

The comments come as Twitter announced Monday afternoon that it has accepted Musk's $44 billion offer.

The social media company said in a statement that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Musk, in which Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each common stock they own.

"The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter's closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter," the statement said.

Twitter will become a privately held company after the deal is closed. Musk has vowed to make Twitter a haven for free speech if his offer goes through.

Trump was banned from Twitter on Jan. 8, 2021, two days after the ex-president's supporters stormed the US Capitol in an failed attempt to prevent US President Joe Biden's inauguration. Twitter said it took the exceptionally rare action of banning an elected official "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

Trump is also banned from Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat for similar reasons.