Commentary: Democrats hate him, but Elon Musk might be their saviour

Unleashing Trump back into the Twittersphere would be the crowning indignity – the thing that really might make liberals cry. Should it, though?

TRUMP ON TWITTER MAY BE JUST WHAT DEMOCRATS NEED

From the standpoint of maintaining one’s personal sanity and mental well-being, the answer is probably yes.

Trump’s absence from Twitter has robbed him of the ability to dominate cable news coverage and diminished his exhausting prominence in most people’s daily lives. He had 90 million Twitter followers, compared with a paltry 4.4 million on Truth Social, which also has much lower traffic. That all stands to change if Musk reinstates him.

But from a standpoint of what’s politically best for Democrats, choking down the castor oil of having Trump back on Twitter may be just what they need to rebound from what is shaping up to be a rough Election Day and start preparing for 2024.

The last few years have clarified that, as much as they may hate him, Trump is the great Democratic unifier. He’s a galvanising figure who’s probably a net positive for Democrats in any election, even though many Republicans worship him the way some techies still worship Musk.

Back in January, I wrote about what it would take for Democrats to defy historical trends and hold onto the House. Typically, the party that controls the White House loses congressional seats – often dozens of them – in the first midterm after a new president is elected.

Everyone agreed it would take something big. And although a Twitter takeover was not yet a gleam in Elon Musk’s eye, Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist, presciently identified Trump’s return to Twitter as being the sort of black swan event that could supercharge Democratic fortunes, since there could be “no bigger midterm wild card than letting the tiger out of its cage”.

It’s too late for a Trump resurrection to help Democrats on Nov 8. But Donovan remains confident that the same dynamic still holds and could boost Joe Biden – or whoever is the Democratic presidential nominee – two years from now.