Conservatives responded positively to Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter, a major social media site that they have long accused of systematically censoring their opinions.
The internet billionaire and the world’s wealthiest man completed the purchase after an 11-day whirlwind that featured resistance, then resignation from the San Francisco-based platform’s board of directors. Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, has long expressed his desire to make Twitter, where he has 80 million followers, private so that it may act as a public forum for free expression, per a report.
Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) tweeted, “Free speech is making a comeback.”
“I’ve never been a proponent of electric automobiles, nor do I ever intend to travel into space,” actor James Woods said. @elonmusk, on the other hand, is a hero. He demonstrated that capitalism will always defeat socialism. #BravoElonMusk.”
“Elon Musk has officially bought Twitter for $54.20 a share,” sports guru Clay Travis said. A major victory for free expression on social media. Chew on the blue checkered tears of the left as they realize their organized marketplace of ideas is dying. Glorious.”
“I’m interested to see what happens next,” said Eric Weinstein, a mathematician and Thiel Capital executive. Let’s look forward to the future! But I have a request for @elonmusk: could you show us how our communications were altered using Twitter Logs? Who was shadowbanned or bot-targeted? What limitations did algorithms impose on our reach? “Can you tell me why we were throttled?”
U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw put it plainly when he foresaw the liberal outrage that would follow Musk’s purchase: “Get ready for the breakdowns.”
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) celebrated the day with a series of tweets: “This is a terrific day to be conservative on Twitter….” The right to free expression is a cornerstone of American democracy. The left is afraid of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter because it might imperil their capacity to censor conservatives.”