Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers, a Republican who has made a name for herself as one of former President Donald Trump's more passionate apologists, was ridiculed after she urged him to create a new search engine “we can TRUST.”
While Trump has not been in the business of creating search engines, he has attempted to launch a social media platform of his own. The platform, Truth Social, promises "open, free, and honest global conversation without discriminating against political ideology." It is part of the new Trump Media Technology Group (TMTG).
Trump was widely mocked after news outlets reported that Truth Social's terms of service include a clause stating that users may not "disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site." The platform was hacked within hours of going live.
Rogers' tweet prompted many to remind her of Trump's many failed business ventures, suggesting that creating a search engine would only provide Trump with another opportunity to grift his supporters.
Others reminded her that Trump has been banned from Twitter since early 2021.
Twitter banned Trump from its platform in the days following the events of January 6, the day a mob of Trump's supporters attacked the nation's seat of government on the false premise that the 2020 general election had been stolen.
In a statement at the time, Twitter noted that a "close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them" contributed to the company's decision to permanently suspend his account.
Ned Segal, Twitter's Chief Financial Officer, later stressed that the ban will remain in effect even if Trump does run for office again, a statement that came amid concerns that allowing Trump back on the platform at any point could further incite violence.
