Donald Trump has given up on his blog. Photo / GC Images
Donald Trump has given up on his blog. Photo / GC Images
Former US President Donald Trump was happily typing up a storm for his purported millions of followers, likely building support for a return to power. But this morning something changed.
The polarising politician has now removed his personal blog from the internet after continuing to protest the recent presidential election results. Recently, the 74-year-old, who has not ruled out running again in 2024, claimed election files had been deleted in Arizona.
"The Mainstream Media and Radical Left Democrats want to stay as far away as possible from the Presidential Election Fraud, which should be one of the biggest stories of our time," he wrote on his website, From The Desk of Donald Trump.
The former president's multiple claims of election fraud were dismissed in succession by US courts last year. Joe Biden won the election by 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232.
Jason Miller, Trump's senior aide, said that Trump's blog "will not be returning" and was merely one of many means to broaden the "efforts they are working on".
Miller reassured Trump fans the outspoken billionaire would return, but on another undisclosed platform. After being blacklisted on all major social media websites following the chaotic end to his presidency, Trump has struggled to reach supporters.
The Washington Post reported the site received just 1500 shares or comments on Facebook and Twitter on its last day — a "staggering drop" for someone whose tweets used to bring in hundreds of thousands of reactions.
Trump claimed a monthly audience of 36 million after questions on the reach of his new blog arose. However, it appears to be another discarded project destined for the internet graveyard. It lasted 29 days.
Donald Trump has not ruled out running again for president in 2024. Photo / AP
However, despite the online setback, the former president is keeping up his appearances, announcing a return to the electoral battlefield on Saturday as the marquee speaker at the North Carolina Republican Party's state convention.
He plans to follow up with several more rallies in June and July to keep his political base engaged in the 2022 midterm elections and give him the option of seeking the presidency again in 2024. "If the president feels like he's in a good position, I think there's a good chance that he does it," Miller told NBC.
Trump’s blog couldn’t make it to 3 Scaramucci’s. Too much work. He is gone. FOREVER
"For the more immediate impact, there's the issue of turning out Trump voters for the midterm elections." And, Miller added, "President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party."
Trump is the first president in U.S. history to have both his presidency and his blog cancelled.
While he certainly has some supporters on board, it's unclear how Trump would fare in another election. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released May 21 showed that just 28 per cent of Republicans think Trump shouldn't run for president in 2024, while 63 per cent of Republicans say the last election was stolen from him.
At the same time, Trump's approval rating among the broader public is not great. He was at 32 per cent approval and 55 per cent disapproval in an NBC News survey of adults in late April. Those numbers suggest that Trump could be in a strong position to win a Republican primary but lose the general election in three years.
