The silence of Donald Trump: How Twitter’s ban is cramping his style

The era when a single tweet from Trump could electrify cable news, rattle financial markets, and unnerve foreign capitals is long gone

Former US president Donald Trump had more than 88m followers on Twitter and used it as his social media megaphone, stoking division, insulting opponents, and perpetrating crimes against spelling. Picture: Gerald Herbert/AP

It was just like old times. On Wednesday alone, Donald Trump issued pronouncements on a potential war with China, what Congress should do about the debt ceiling, false claims of a stolen election, and his Fox News ally “the great Sean Hannity”.

Cast into the social media wilderness, the former US president releases statements by email these days, clogging the inboxes of reporters whose attention has turned elsewhere.