There may come a time in the distant future where people are going to forget that there once was a businessman turned reality TV show host, who utilized a social media platform to troll himself into what is arguably the most powerful job in the world. And once Donald Trump neared the end of his presidency, Twitter deactivated his account and seemed to send him into obscurity.
So when Team Trump announced its launch of Twitter alternative, Gettr, people wanted to know who actually owns the app.
Who owns Gettr? All signs point to former Trump spokesman Jason Miller.
Politico reports that Miller “is leading the platform” and that he’s also enlisted the help of another former campaign spokesperson, Tim Murtaugh, who is consulting on the application as well.
Gettr’s announcement has been a long time coming, with many people labeling the app as basically Trump’s version of Twitter, but it’s unclear whether or not the former president has any actual affiliation with Gettr.
A rep affiliated with the app said, “The former president is going to make his own decision. It’s certainly there and ready for him should he make the decision — we would welcome that. There is an account reserved for him and waiting for him but that’s a decision for him to make.”
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Source: Google Play Store
Both Trump’s Twitter and Facebook privileges have been revoked, so he attempted to communicate with his user base via his From the Desk of Donald J. Trump blog, but website issues and low readership led to the blog ultimately being shut down.
There were rumors that Trump would be using Gettr as a communication platform, but it seems that the former president is waiting to see if the application has any sort of viable user base on it.
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It’s important to note that a key strategy of Trump’s to winning the presidency was to say outlandish things that would ruffle people’s feathers. His outlandish claims would get publicity, people would throw fits, Saturday Night Live would lampoon him, dozens of media articles would ridicule him, and Trump would lap up the publicity and throw in some criticism of “liberals” and the “radical left,” and the cycle would continue.
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The social media castration of Trump effectively rendered this strategy nonviable, and for him to attempt a Gettr launch at this point is a tricky move. It has nowhere near the reach of Twitter, and it would be clear that Trump is joining the platform just so people will listen to him again.