This comes a year after Trump was banned from Twitter and Facebook.
The Truth Social app was available for download via the Apple App Store to a select number of subscribers who had preordered. Other subscribers who were placed on a waiting list will be granted access in the next 10 days.
Soon after its launch, the site experienced technical problems. Subscribers were reported to have been shut down for several hours. Other users had difficulty signing in. It is unlikely that the site will be available for download until next month.
“Due to huge demand, we have placed your name on our waitlist,” said a message sent to those who tried to access the platform. It also stated, “We love”
Trump hopes Truth Social will be a magnet for the millions of people who follow him on Twitter. He also suggests a third presidential campaign, which could trigger a wave of subscribers to support the billions that investors have invested in the venture. In recent months, shares in a company that plans on buying Trump Media and Technology Group, which is the parent of Truth Social have shot up.
Apple’s ranking showed that Truth Social was the most free app in the U.S. Monday morning. It beat the “Talking Ben the Dog”, children’s game, streaming services HBO Max, TikTok and YouTube.
Monday’s partial launch follows an experimental beta launch last week to verify the platform.
Trump was expelled from the top social media platforms after last year’s Jan. 6 Capitol Riot, which critics claimed he incited. Trump and the conservative media have taken up this issue to raise difficult questions about freedom of speech in a sector dominated by tech giants.
Republicans were quick in using Truth Social’s launch to raise funds for their election campaigns.
“After more than a year of muzzling by Liberal Big Tech Tyrants: TRUMP. IS. BACK,” Kevin McCarthy, GOP House Minority Leader, wrote Monday in an email appeal for fundraising.
Fundraising efforts were also made by groups like the Republican National Committee or the Congressional Leadership Fund to support the launch.
Devin Nunes , Trump Media CEO and former GOP Congressman, stated Sunday on Fox News that “our main goal here is give people their voice back.” The app is “the opposite of Silicon Valley tech oligarch freaks telling people what to think and deciding who can be on it.”
Nunes stated that the app should be “fully functional” by March 31st.
Despite all the hype, Trump seems to have mostly stayed away on the launch day of the app. As of 4:00 p.m. Eastern, a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social account revealed that there were no new messages. His last message came a week ago: “Get ready!” Your favorite president will be seeing you soon!
Trump had already tweeted almost 60,000 times before Twitter banned him from posting last January. He had also attracted nearly 90 million followers.
On Monday, his Truth Social followers were listed at 12,000.
Trump hopes to use outrage over social media bans to draw a wide audience to keep the stock climbing — and potentially hand him hundreds of million dollars personally — but there are significant challenges.
Alternative messaging platforms, like Parler and Gettr, that are currently open to the public have not been able move beyond the echo chamber of conservative political commentary.
Trump Media, a company owned by Trump, is also facing financial difficulties. A publicly traded company has offered it nearly $300 million. It also received pledges from dozens private investors for $1 billion more to finance its operations. However, it still needs to be approved by regulators before it can access the cash.
Digital World Acquisition Corp., the company it wants to merge with, said regulators are looking into reports it may have violated security rules by speaking to Trump representatives last year about possible joining forces before selling stock. Digital World, a “blank-check” company, is allowed to go public quickly without making many disclosures if they have not yet identified a target.
A second regulatory investigation is underway to investigate possible violations of stock trading earlier in the autumn.
Digital World shares are valued at $10 billion by investors who hold them.
