Twitter just had one of the worst days in the company’s history on Wall Street — and former President Donald Trump, who was kicked off the service at the beginning of the year, is clearly loving it.
Trump on Friday night mocked Twitter, saying in a statement the company’s stock price just “plunged” because the app has become “totally BORING.”
Here’s a look at his full statement:
“Twitter stock ‘plunged’ as results are no longer cutting it for investors. Shares are off 15% today. Bad forecasts are hurting the outlook but more importantly, in my opinion, it has become totally BORING as people flock to leave the site. [Analyst] Michael Nathanson stated, ‘the math doesn’t make sense’ as he lowered his price target. I guess that’s what happens when you go against FREEDOM OF SPEECH!” It will happen to others also.”
The ex-commander-in-chief is certainly correct about Twitter’ stock performance. On Friday, the company’s stock price dropped 15.16% — wiping out nearly all of its 2021 gains in the process — after the company posted its Q1 financial report a day earlier.
But his claim users are “flocking” to ditch Twitter isn”t correct, at least based on the company’s first quarter report. Twitter added 7 million daily users during Q1, which pushed the company to 199 million users overall. That’s actually one reason analysts weren’t thrilled with Twitter’s report — the company fell one million users short of the 8 million new users most analysts had projected for Q1.
Trump’s Friday jabs came a few months after Twitter permanently banned Trump from its service, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Twitter said it banned Trump “due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” Trump had more than 88 million Twitter followers when he was kicked off the app.
Since then, Trump has been sending messages out on Gab, where he has 2.1 million followers. Gab, which has positioned itself as the anti-Twitter when it comes to policing content, refers to itself as a “social network that champions free speech, individual liberty and the free flow of information online. All are welcome.” Trump is also looking to start his own rival social media platform to Twitter, Fox News reported in late March.