Former President Donald Trump was booted off Facebook and Twitter shortly after his comments on Jan. 6. 

We all know the story. 

Since then, he’s created his own social media platform and has been unbanned from Twitter, although he hasn’t yet posted.

For all intents and purposes, Trump’s name has faded into the microwave background radiation of the public consciousness. 

Every so often he pops up, but he quickly fades away. For better or worse, this is a far cry from the attention he received while president seemingly eons ago.

But as the 2024 presidential election slowly approaches, should Trump be brought back? Meta has said it will reinstate Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram in the coming weeks.

If Meta changes its mind  and decides to keep Trump banned from Facebook, what precedent will this set for future world leaders and officials? More importantly,  though, if Trump isn’t unbanned, can Facebook compete with Elon Musk’s Wild West-style Twitter?

Trump has obviously said some egregious things — no one’s denying that.

 But there is an important question that needs to be answered: when does someone deserve to be banned from social media? Rules and guidelines are too vague when you get into the nitty-gritty details.

The problem is simply that no one really knows, but the public outrage that Trump has spawned certainly doesn’t help his case. There is a funny irony about the fact that Trump was banned from Twitter while terrorist organizations actively recruited on the platform.

But here’s the thing: Republican or Democrat, pro-Trump or anti-Trump, bringing him back may be in your best interest. 

Republicans advocating for free speech will obviously feel vindicated by Trump’s return to the platform. And Trump’s reinstatement would certainly create a less murky precedent for future public officials who may or may not be as “outgoing” as him.

But for Democrats who want to see Trump as often as the back of their heads, his reintroduction to Facebook may antagonize enough moderates and close-to-center Republicans to swing an election.

I’m sure we all remember Trump’s antics on Twitter: the name-calling, the threats and the self-righteous tweets. 

When Trump is allowed back onto Facebook and begins posting, these antics will likely continue, and many people who like the idea of Trump may be turned away.

In a 2019 Politico/Morning Consult poll, 46% of respondents said that Trump’s use of Twitter hurts his reelection bid, and 72% of respondents said that Trump used Twitter too much.

In this sense, Trump can be thought of as a performer: if the act is bad, then the audience won’t return to the show. But if you keep Trump out of the limelight, he might haphazardly make it to Broadway.

Trump loves being the center of attention, but he thrives when he’s out of the headlines. President Biden’s 2020 victory was largely a referendum on Trump. 

If Biden wants to defeat Trump again (assuming they face off), he had better hope that Trump is in every headline, or Trump will likely be our next president.

So should Trump be allowed back? I think so. Not because I agree with everything he says, but precisely because I don’t. 

Yes, if Trump comes back, he’s going to say some false things — what politician doesn’t? 

But the blowback that Trump receives from his claims and accusations has impacts too.

It’s been over two years since Jan. 6, 2021. 

Still, media headlines and politicians hold it over him eagerly. 

In other words, Trump is being held responsible in the court of public opinion, which wields a lot of power come election year.

So, though I don’t agree with everything Trump says, and despite the fact that I don’t think he should run for president, it’s imperative to let the court of public opinion make an educated and fair decision come election time — not Meta. 

And how can a fair decision be made when Trump’s true character is hidden from the modern-day public square?